


Don't worry, I've got a plan!

by whereismypie



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: A lot - Freeform, Angst, Avengers go on holiday, But Only a Little Bit - Freeform, Drinking, F/M, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Shenanigans and Fuckery, idiotplot, vacation fic, very light swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-13 14:00:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21495445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whereismypie/pseuds/whereismypie
Summary: The Avengers are “forced” to go on a holiday. Shenanigans and fuckery ensured!
Relationships: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 26
Kudos: 66





	1. Teaser

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Soti](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soti/gifts).

> Okay so I started writing this about a hundred years ago and I finally almost finished it. Thought it might be time to share this piece of idiotplot with the world!

** Teaser: **

  
A black eye and a cut on the cheek decorated Tony’s face.

Bruce wasn’t physically hurt but during the fight the other guy came out to play as well, and that always drained all energy out of him.

Natasha had a sprained wrist, Clint a broken nose, and even Americas golden boy had a cut lip.

The only one who wasn’t hurt was Thor. In fact, he was in an annoyingly good mood.

“It was a mighty battle!” He exclaimed, smiling brightly. Tony rolled his eyes so hard, he was sure they would get stuck in his head.

They had been called to a mission over three days ago. All they were told at the time was that a group of previously unknown people were attacking New York with glue. Tony had been sure that he just misheard Fury, but as it turned out that was exactly what was going on. A group called “Masters of Evil” had developed a substance they called Adhesive X and until a couple of hours ago there was no known solution for it, so it stuck to everything it touched. The Masters of Evil, actual identities still unknown, covered the whole city in the stuff. There was extensive damage to buildings, the infrastructure and there even have been some casualties. Tony and Bruce had been working on a solution for Adhesive X, while the rest of the Avengers were working on helping the civilians and most importantly keep the Masters from doing anymore damage.

At the end they finally were able to develop a solution against Adhesive X, but the baddies escaped, not before giving them a good beating.

Now they were gathered around a big conference table in the Avengers Tower, Fury sitting at the head of the table, for the debriefing, which Tony wasn’t really listening to. What he wanted right now was a shower and a weeks’ worth of sleep, and not director Fury talking about how they just got beaten up. He was there, he knew what happened, thank you very much and good night.

Steve on the other hand, was taking notes, his frown so intense his eyebrows were almost touching. He was clearly upset that they weren’t able to catch the perpetrators. Not that everyone else was happy about it, but it upset Steve the most. Tony knew he regarded the two of them as the leaders of the Avengers and he also knew how much Steve got upset about failure. Mind you not the failure of others, but of himself.

Fury has been rambling on for what felt like hours and Tony was getting impatient. He shifted in his seat and sighed.

“Oh, I’m sorry Mr. Stark am I boring you?” Fury asked, narrowing his eyes, well eye, on him.

Tony massaged the bridge of his nose. “To be honest: Yes. We’ve been out there fighting for three days straight, Fury, and I get that there is a point to that debriefing, but seriously, all we need and want right now is a break.”

Steve was shooting him a disapproving look, but everyone else seemed to agree with Tony, for once. After a brief moment of silence Fury crossed his arms and nodded. “That’s why I’m gonna send you away for a week. Outside the city, outside the country.”

Tony was sure he must have a concussion, because that wasn’t something Fury would say. He usually threw a fit when they wanted just a couple of days off.

“What do you mean you’re going to send us away?” Steve sounded slightly suspicious.

Fury turned to look at the blond soldier. “You just got the crap beaten out of you Captain, you and your team need a breather.”

“We need to find the people who did this!” Steve protested.

“And SHIELD will do everything in our power to find them. And when we do, we need you to be at full strength. So, we are going to send you on a little holiday.”

Now it was Steve’s turn to cross his arms and sigh.

“Well, I for one would love a break.” Clint announced and Natasha and Bruce were nodding in agreement, all of them looking exhausted.

Even though Thor didn’t get hurt during the battle, he still wasn’t going to say no to a vacation. He would love to see more of Midgard.

“Fine!” Steve got up, pushing his chair back and stormed out of the conference room.

The others watched him leave, a little surprised about the outburst. Nat raised an eyebrow at Tony, who got up as well. “On it.”

But before he went to check up on Steve, he went up to his rooms to take a shower and put on a set of new cloths. He smelled gross and felt even grosser. He told J.A.R.V.I.S to start the shower and took of his sweat and blood-soaked cloths and took a look at himself in the mirror. There were already bruises forming all over his body, scratches lining his arms and of course there was his now disfigured face. God only knew what he would look like without his suit.

Stepping into the shower, Tony closed his eyes and let out an almost pornographic moan when the hot water hit his sensitive skin. He could already feel his tense muscles relaxing a little. He clearly wasn’t made for this whole fighting business. He was an engineer, a mechanic and not a soldier. Yet he knew that he wouldn’t be able to go back to a life where he wasn’t Iron Man, where he wasn’t part of the Avengers, trying to make this world just a little safer.

But he could definitely do without the injuries.

After almost scrubbing his skin raw under the shower, Tony got changed into a pair of grey sweats and an old AC/DC shirt.

He knew exactly where he could find Steve, even without asking J.A.R.V.I.S.

Five minutes later Tony entered the gym, empty apart from a very angry looking super-soldier. Steve was at the bench press, lifting the weights into the air. He was still wearing his Captain America uniform.

Tony made sure to make a lot of noise when he walked in, so he wouldn’t startle Steve. Not that that was even possible, but still. He crossed his arms and leaned against a pillar near the bench press, watching Steve.

Steve’s moist hair was clinging to his forehead, his entire body tense, his face scrunched up, eyes hard. Tony couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his Captain like that. His Captain? He meant THE Captain! Shaking his head ever so slightly, Tony focused once more on the man in front of him, trying his best not to stare too obviously at Steve’s bulging biceps.

It took about five more minutes until Steve finally put the weights away and sat up, facing Tony. “What?”

He raised an eyebrow at the soldier, his arms still crossed.

Steve sighed and ran his hand over his face. “Yeah, yeah, I know I shouldn’t just have stormed out like that but come on! We don’t need a holiday, we need to find those Masters of Evil and bring them to justice!”

Tony’s eyebrow rose higher.

“Okay maybe the team needs a little rest, but I am good to go. It’s not like I could relax anyways.”

Steve got up from the bench a little wobbly on his feet.

Tony pursed his lips, trying not to grin.

“Okay fine. I’ll come with you on holiday.”

Tony uncrossed his arms and patted Steve on the back, the grin finally breaking through. “Good talk, Cap.”

The next day they were ready to leave.


	2. Day 1: Inflatables and skinny dipping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day of their vacation and the team does what they do best: chaos.

** Day 1: Inflatables and skinny dipping **

Fury didn’t tell them where they were going and to be honest it didn’t really matter. A Quin-jet picked them up and they flew for about six hours, most of which Tony had slept through.

Due to his injuries he had taken a couple of painkillers that made his body feel like he was floating. But then again, he _was_ in a jet so technically he was floating.

When he finally opened his eyes again, he noticed Bruce and Steve staring at him in disbelieve.

“What?” Tony asked and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Before one of them could reply, the pilot announced that they have arrived and everyone grabbed their bags, getting out of the jet. Tony looked at his reflection in the window before he got up, checking if he had something stuck to his face, that could explain the weird looks he had gotten from Bruce and Steve. Nope, no drool, no sleep-marks, not even sharpie drawings. Weird.

“Holy shit,” Clint mumbled.

They had landed on a beautiful beach, the deep blue ocean crashing against white sand. In front of them rose a small cliff and on it stood the most amazing house. It consisted of three stories, with a pool on the middle and top floor, both of them surrounded by large sun decks. The few walls of the house were wood but big window fronts dominated the layout, everything was open and spacious and just breathtakingly beautiful. Around the house was nothing but jungle and a narrow path leading up from the beach.

Steve stepped out behind Clint. “Language! But yeah.”

“Language?” Tony asked, shaking his head. “Seriously Cap, it’s not the 40s anymore.”

“So, manners are out of style now?”

“Being uptight is.”

“Who says I’m uptight?”

Natasha squeezed in between the two and at glared at them. “Don’t you dare fight. We have one week off and I won’t spend it listening the two of you bickering all day long. I hear one more word and I will personally see to it that you will regret getting out of the ice,” she pointed at Steve, then turned to Tony, “and inventing that suit of yours! Is that understood?!”

Steve actually looked a little guilty, which made Tony smile.

“Yes, ma’am.” The soldier mumbled, Tony just shrugged, but apparently that was enough confirmation for Nat, her scolding expression being replaced by a big grin.

“Now then boys, let’s have some fun.”

Naturally they fought over who was staying in which room, not even Natasha’s threats could prevent that. Before anyone could get seriously hurt, more than they already were, Bruce made them pull straws.

Tony and Steve got lucky, pun probably not intended, with the two rooms at the top floor. Thor and Bruce ended up in the middle, while Nat and Clint got the rooms on the bottom floor. Not that any of the rooms weren’t nice, because they were, but the top ones had the best view over the whole bay.

They made their way upstairs to get rid of their bags and explore the house. The bedrooms were amazing, each equipped with a king-sized bed with white mosquito nets spanning over the bedposts, a few comfy chairs surrounding a small table with fragrant pink flowers on it, and the obligatory minibar. The white pillows and cushions everywhere stood in a stark contrast to the dark wood of the furniture, floor and ceiling. One of the walls was a huge window front facing, depending on the room, either the ocean or the jungle, bathing the whole room in warm light.

From his room Tony could oversee the whole bay beneath him, as well as the pool right outside his window. He could also see right into Steve’s bedroom.

“That could be fun.” Tony put his bag down next to the bed and went to have a look in the minibar. Nothing like a little drink to start off a holiday. He poured himself a Scotch, took a sip and closed his eyes. “Perfect.”

With the glass in his hand, Tony left his room to look at the rest of the house. He assumed the other bedrooms looked pretty much like his, so he didn’t bother. Also, the other might not like him snooping around in their rooms. Not that that ever stopped him.

Every floor had its own bathroom with a bathtub that could easily fit three people, as well as a rain shower, all white marble and glass.

There was a big common room and kitchen on the second floor, again everything was kept in warm earthy colours. The sofa in the middle of the room had more cushions on it than the whole Avengers Tower had in total and it looked like heaven. There even was a fireplace in the corner, although Tony doubted that they would have need for it. He could already feel a bead of sweat running down his back. Good thing he had two pools and an ocean to choose from to cool down.

Apparently, Natasha and Thor had the same idea, the two of them racing past him, already dressed in their swimsuits. Tony grinned as Thor jumped into the pool, using the full momentum of his run. The resulting wave caught Nat just as she jumped in after him.

Tony made his way over to the kitchen, where Bruce was already going through all the drawers and cabinets. “Tony, I think I’m in heaven.” Bruce didn’t even turn around, still roaming around in one of the cupboards. Clint meanwhile had his head stuck in the fridge, emerging with a huge grin and a box of doughnuts. “Hello there my pretties.”

Tony knew better than to get between Clint and his sweets. The guy’s eating habits were almost as bad as Thor’s. Almost.

Choosing to let the foodies be, Tony went further downstairs, to the bottom floor. Apart from Nat’s and Clint’s bedrooms, there was also a game room with a pool table, a dart board, he was sure Clint was going to insist on playing, which as everyone knew was pointless, and a poker table. Naturally there was also a bar in the games room.

Tony put his now empty glass on the bar counter and made his way to the beach. Halfway there it occurred to him that he had forgotten his swimming trunks upstairs in his room. Well, it wasn’t the first time he went skinny dipping.

Steve stepped out of the shower, rubbing his hair dry with an impossibly fluffy towel, a second one wrapped around his waist. He took a look in the mirror to check the cut on his lip from the battle. Thanks to the serum it was almost completely healed and usually he would be pleased about it, but it upset Steve that the rest of the team wasn’t as lucky as him. They didn’t have some super serum in their blood to heal them, so it was his job to keep them safe.

Shaking his head, he peaked out of the bathroom door, to make sure no one was in the hallway and then hurried to his room. Steve always showered after travelling, it refreshed him.

Through the open window he could hear Natasha and Thor making a lot of noise in the pool downstairs.

The towel still wrapped around his waist, Steve stepped over to the window, looking down to where Thor and Tasha were splashing each other with water in the pool. They looked like they were having a lot of fun and Steve just decided to join them, when something else caught his eye. Someone was walking from the house towards the beach and narrowing his eyes he recognised it was Tony.

A very naked Tony.

Steve blinked a few times until his brain finally caught up with him and he quickly turned around. “Dear god.” He mumbled, shaking his head.

Steve had to fight the urge to turn back around again. Tony must not be aware of the fact that he could be seen from the house because otherwise he wouldn’t be naked, Steve told himself.

Yeah, the genius probably just hadn’t thought of it. So, it would be wrong to look. It would be wrong to turn his head ever so slightly to catch a glimpse of Tony.

Just as he was about to turn his heard, he heard Natasha calling from downstairs. She must have seen him through the window. “Hey Rogers, come down here!”

A few minutes later Steve appeared at the pool, wearing the only pair of shorts he could find in his bag, even though he was sure he had packed more and none of them had the Star-Spangled Banner on them. He wondered who could possibly have changed them.

Natasha surfaced from a dive to see Steve standing in front of her at the edge of the pool. She glanced up at him and swam back a little to get a better look. As she opened her mouth to speak, Steve raised his finger as if to shush Natasha. “Not a word.”

Thor’s grin was almost too big for his face. “You look formidable, Captain.”

“I just hope you don’t expect us to salute the flag.” Nat added.

Steve rolled his eyes so hard, Tony would be proud of him and put on his sunglasses. He walked over to one of the deck chairs with his book in hand and made himself comfortable.

“You should come and join.” Thor called.

“Maybe in a bit. Have you checked out the closet under the stairs? They have all kinds of pool accessories there.”

Thor was ever curious so, he quickly climbed out of the pool to check out the toys.

It wasn’t long before he came back with one inflatable in each hand.

One of them was a shark.

The other one was a unicorn.

And both were bigger than the God that held them.

Apart from the giant inflatables he also carried two pool noodles.

“Widow! Look at what I found! Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Nat climbed out of the pool and walked over to Thor. “Jousting tournament?”

The blond man nodded, smiling brightly.

“I call the shark!” Natasha called out and grabbed the inflatable shark and one of the pool noodles.

Steve gave up on reading his book and watched the two of them mount their plastic animals.

“Prepare for a crushing defeat, Widow!” Thor called from onto a white unicorn with a rainbow-coloured mane.

Nat raised her pool noodle, tightening her legs around her hammerhead shark.

“I am prepared to watch you fall!” And with that they started to wiggle back and forth on top of the inflatables to make them move towards each other. As soon as they were close enough, they started hitting the other with their pool noodle, Natasha using her left hand to spare her sprained right wrist, each shouting insults and threats at their opponent.

Steve couldn’t help but laugh out loud and the sheer ridiculousness of the scene in front of him. It wasn’t everyday that the God of Thunder and one of the most feared assassins in the world were fighting each other. At least not like that.

It went on like that for the better part of an hour until they finally admitted that they both were “the greatest warriors alive”, as Thor put it, and called it a truce.

Now Natasha was sitting on one of the deck chairs next to Steve, looking out over the pool where Thor was having a little nap on his inflatable unicorn, a little bottle of black nail varnish next to her. She had already painted her toes and her right hand as she picked up the little brush with her bandaged hand and tried to paint the nails on her left, which turned out to be much more challenging than she had imagined. She muttered a string of curses in multiple languages but didn’t give up until she missed and painted her finger instead of the nail. More curses followed.

Steve was lying on the chair next to her and hearing Nat curse made his eyebrow shot up over the rim of his sunglasses.

“Don’t give me that ‘language’ crap, because I swear to god-“

He put his hands up defensively, trying not to laugh. “Whoa calm down Natasha, I was going to offer my help.” It was adorable how upset Nat got about something so trivial and how her lips pursed, and eyebrows sunk low when she got angry.

She looked up at him from under her eyebrows. “You are offering to paint my nails?”

Steve sat up and swung his legs over the chair. “Sure. You forget that I am quite good a drawing. Can’t be that more difficult, right?”

Still slightly suspicious Nat got up and sat down next to Steve, handing him the small bottle. “Okay then.”

Steve took the bottle from her and placed her hand gently on his thigh. “Have you done this before?” Nat asked. Steve just briefly looked up at her and smiled before he started painting her nails. He knew Natasha loved to keep secrets but hated it when someone else did and it was way too much fun to tease her instead of admitting that it was in fact the first time, he painted someone’s nails.

Just before Steve was finished, Tony walked over, coming straight from the beach by the look of it, his feet still covered in sand. “Is it Christmas already? Because let me tell you Cap, this is all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Maybe if you ask nicely, he will do yours too.” Natasha grinned up at Tony. She had to admit that Steve was doing a great job and she already made a mental note for the next time she wanted her nails done.

The blond soldier looked up from his masterpiece at Tony. “Well that depends. Have you been a good boy?”

The shocked expression on Tony’s face was priceless and Steve really wished he had a camera to capture this moment forever. Natasha meanwhile doubled over from laughter, which earned her a stern look from Steve. “Hold still or I’m gonna mess it up!”

Tasha was still giggling like a little girl, so untypical for her and yet it suited her perfectly. “Yes, Captain!”

Tony had finally recovered from his shock and made his way over to them. “Cap, you really keep surprising me with that mouth of yours.”

Natasha started laughing again and Steve rolled his eyes with a smirk on his lips. When he was finally finished with Nat’s nails and they had dried, he looked over at Tony. “Your turn, Stark.”

“No way. The 90s are over, so no more black nails for me!” He took a step back, acting as if Steve had just threatened him.

“This can go one of two ways: either you sit down next to Steve and let him do his thing or I’m gonna make you.” Natasha had her arms crossed, a hint of provocation in her eyes.

Five minutes later Clint and Bruce came out of the kitchen to join the others by the pool. The scene in front of them was like something out of a very bad movie.

Thor was asleep on his unicorn inflatable in the pool, while Natasha had Tony’s right arm twisted behind his back, so Steve, still in his American flag bathing shorts, could paint his left one with Nat’s black varnish. By now Tony had stopped struggling physically, because even though Nat’s wrist was injured, she still had a hell of a death grip on him, but that didn’t stop him from swearing like a sailor, threatening unimaginable pain on Steve and Natasha.

“You know, sometimes I wonder where my life went wrong to end up here.” Clint mumbled to Bruce. But the man didn’t hear him, he was already on his way over to the trio on the deck chair, so he could get his nails done next.

After the painting party, Steve actually managed to get both of Tony’s and Bruce’s hands and one of Clint’s feet, they all had dinner together in the kitchen. Bruce had cooked some sort of Caribbean dish that Steve never heard of but very much enjoyed. He always enjoyed Bruce’s cooking and so did everyone else. Thor especially. The man was eating for ten.

They were all still pretty beat from the recent battle, so they called it an early night.

Steve was lying in bed, watching the ceiling. He body was screaming for sleep, but his brain was wide awake.

His mind kept wandering back to Tony.

On the beach.

Naked.

This was not an appropriate topic to think about when lying in bed. Although he was sure Tony would disagree. He would make some salacious comment about how this was the best place to think of naked people and then he would give him one of his stupid smirks and then he would raise his eyebrow at Steve, looking up at him through his thick lashes with those big brown eyes and –

Steve sat up and ran a hand over his face. Right, this was ridiculous. He got up and walked to the bathroom as if splashing some water onto his face was going to change anything. Looking at himself in the mirror Steve shook his head. “Get your shit together, Rogers.” He mumbled to himself and ran a hand through his blonde hair.

Making his way back to his bedroom, Steve walked past Tony’s room. The curtains were only half drawn, and Steve knew that if he stood on the right spot he could see inside. He knew it was a bad idea, but his feet seemed to think otherwise. He found an opening between the white curtains and turned his back to it.

This was a bad idea. It was wrong. He would be violating Tony’s privacy.

And yet.

And yet he turned around.

Tony was lying in bed, splayed out like a starfish on his stomach, his upper body was naked and maybe the rest of it too, but the blanket covered the lower half of his body. Steve couldn’t see his face, but he knew what it looked like when Tony was asleep. It was the only time the inventor looked calm and not like he was thinking of a million things at once.

He knew that sometimes when Tony was dreaming, he would mumble in his sleep.

Just like he did on the plane on their way here.

First it was just incoherent noises, those turned into moans. And Steve and Bruce thought it was hilarious and then… And then there was his name. Mumbled between soft moans, very quietly but Steve was sure he heard it. And by the look on Bruce’s face he had heard it too.

Watching Tony sleep like this now, so peaceful and calm, made Steve feel- he didn’t know what it made him feel. But it was good.

Tony stirred in his sleep and Steve quickly stepped away from the gap in the curtains like he was a little boy being caught stealing candy out of a jar. He quickly made his way to his own room and told himself that he was just tired and still stressed from the fight and that this didn’t mean anything. This was just a stress thing.

“Just stress.” He told himself, climbing back into bed.

He didn’t sleep that night.


	3. Day 2: Sandcastles and Poker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's vacation day number two, Thor and Tony are bonding and Steve is acting weird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are live giving, so if you like what you read please feel free to share the love.

** Day 2: Sandcastles and poker **

The next morning Tony was sitting on the second-floor sundeck with the rest of the Avengers, sans Steve, having breakfast. Well, the term breakfast was maybe a bit of a stretch, since all Tony consumed was an unholy amount of coffee and one of his smoothies. And it wasn’t for lack of choice, the table was laden with fruits, pancakes and waffles, bacon and eggs and of course Pop Tarts for Thor. Bruce had for once allowed someone to help him in the kitchen and Clint made freshly baked croissants. And even though everything looked amazing, Tony just couldn’t eat in the morning. Quite the opposite was true for the rest of the group, especially Thor.

Tony let his gaze wander over the sun deck and out to the ocean, when he heard someone walking up the stairs. Turning around he saw it was Steve who just came back from his usual morning-workout. He wore black shorts and a grey shirt that stretched impossibly tight around his biceps. The sweat made it cling to Steve’s body and you could count the muscles of his six – no eight – pack. Tony unconsciously licked his lips.

“Mornin’” His voice sounded way too hoarse, so Tony cleared his throat and tried again. “Morning, Cap. Good run?” He could hear Natasha sniggering next to him.

Steve didn’t seem to notice, he just smiled slightly and nodded. “Yeah. Good. You should come some time.”

Now it was Clint’s turn to laugh. “Sure. He would drop dead after ten minutes.”

“Hey!” Tony protested.

“Oh, please Tony, Steve would have to carry you back up here.” Bruce chimed in.

“Like a bride!” Thor added, half a pop tart stuffed in his mouth.

Natasha was laughing even more, making Tony roll his eyes.

Steve grinned and crossed his arms. “Well, how about you proof ‘em wrong, Stark?”

Tony narrowed his eyes at Steve. He never backed down from a challenge and he was sure that was someday going to be his downfall. “Fine. Wake me up tomorrow morning and we’ll go.” Steve’s grin widened.

“Can’t wait.” With that he turned around to go upstairs to go shower and get changed and Tony’s gaze automatically dropped down to Steve’s ass. He wouldn’t mind running after that.

Someone kicked his leg under the table, which made Tony turn back around to the group. Nat was raising an eyebrow at him, barely managing to suppress a smirk.

“Shut up.” Tony whispered, so only Nat could hear him.

Most of the day went by in a lazy haze, all of them relaxing by the pools, dozing in the sun, reading or swimming to cool down, it was simply too hot to move any more. At some point someone suggested having a picknick on the beach and they made their way down to the little bay in front of the house. Thor grabbed a couple of things from the mystery closet, where he also got the pool inflatables from, wrapped whatever he got in a towel, while the rest of them carried the food Bruce and Clint had prepared. The food was delicious as usual, they had all sorts of tapas because Bruce was feeling “Spanish”. They had long stopped questioning the logic behind the food choices Bruce made for them and just let the man do his thing.

After they had eaten, Clint and Natasha went for a swim, while Bruce was clearing away the left-over food and dishes with Steve. Thor meanwhile devoted himself to the things he had wrapped up in his towel.

Of course, Thor acting all sketchy and secretive caught Tony’s attention and he was a little surprised when Thor produced a small plastic shovel, that looked ridiculously tiny in his huge hands and a variety of differently sized buckets. Was he… was he going to build a sandcastle? No one else seemed to have noticed yet, Nat and Clint already swam too far out to see what was going on the beach and Bruce and Steve just went up to the house to get rid of their picknick stuff.

Tony observed Thor shovelling dry sand into one of the buckets, turn it over and watch it fall apart. 

“You need damp sand.”

Thor looked over at him with a thankful smile. “Would you like to join? I’ve read on the Internets that this is a beach tradition.”

When he was a child his family spend their summer holidays wherever his father had to work and the few times, he had actually gone to the beach it was either with Jarvis or his nanny. He had never built a sandcastle before.

“Thank you again for the great food Bruce. I don’t know what we would do without your cooking.”

Bruce smiled happily up at Steve. “You would all starve.” He liked cooking, but he loved making meals for his family. It reminded him of a time before the other guy, when he used to cook with his mother. He liked having a family again.

He and Steve made their way back down to the beach, when they heard shouting. Exchanging a brief glance, they sped up to see what the commotion was about.

Thor and Tony were sitting next to each other in the sand. Tony holding a bucket and Thor holding a plastic shovel.

“You’re messing up the structural integrity of the castle!” Tony shouted, trying to grab the shovel from Thor.

“A strong defence is more important than what you just said. And it’s a mighty fort not a castle!” Thor shouted back, holding the shovel out of Tony’s reach.

Steve and Bruce came to a halt about 20 meters in front of them. “Do you see what I see?” Bruce asked, his voice sounding very concerned. Steve just nodded.

“If you tear down this wall, the whole thing will implode!”  
  


Thor’s face dropped. “We can not have that. The battle will take place after we made the moat.” And with that he handed Tony the shovel. The inventor immediately went to work, fortifying the wall of concern.

Bruce shook his head and took out his book, lying down a bit further down the beach, so not to disturb the men at work. “Nerds.” He mumbled with a grin.

Steve on the other hand and grabbed his little sketch book that he took with him everywhere. He sat down on a rock and started drawing the scene in front of him. Bruce lying on the beach reading, Nat and Clint out in the ocean slashing each other with water, laughing and giggling like children and of course Thor and Tony building their sandcastle – sandfort – like actual children.

The before mentioned “battle” took place about an hour later and consisted Thor and Tony stamping all over their creation, Tony trying to sound like a dinosaur, which actually sounded more like a dying cat, and Thor giving his best impression of Godzilla. By that time Clint and Nat had finally emerged from the ocean and watched the destruction with Steve and Bruce.

“Do you ask yourselves sometimes what is wrong with them?” Bruce asked.

Nat shook her head. “I find it best not to go down that road. Because after all – we are friends with them which says a lot about us.”

Steve laughed and finished his drawing. This was going to the permanent collection.

Come evening, they found themselves in the games room on the first floor. Clint had somehow convinced them, that playing darts was a really good idea.

It wasn’t.

At least it wasn’t until Nat and Tony came up with a way to make it harder for Clint to play. For reasons unknown Nat had a blindfold with her which was now covering Clint’s eyes, then they spun him around in circles for half a minute, removed the blindfold and gave him three seconds to throw the dart.

He still won.

Tony eventually had enough of losing against Clint and decided it was time to play a game he was good at. Poker.

“But not strip-poker!”

Tony huffed. “Come on Bruce, where’s the fun if no one gets naked?”

“We are five dudes and Nat. Do you really want that?”

“Hey!” Nat and Thor protested in unison.

“You Midgardians should be so lucky to see my godly body undressed!”

“You are just afraid mine is bigger than yours.” Tony mumbled at Bruce, who just rolled his eyes in response.

Steve’s eyes involuntarily wandered down Tony’s body to his – Nope. Not going there.

“I think poker sounds great!” He said way too loud, which earned him a scrutinizing look from Natasha. Great. Steve knew all too well that nothing passed by this woman even, or especially, if you tried to hide it.

Tony clapped his hands. “Right then children, let’s do this. Bruce and Clint, you explain the rules to the newbies, no offence muscle men,” he looked at Thor and Steve. “Nat you take care of the drinks.”

“And what are you going to do?” Clint asked.

“Cigars and music.”

“I know how to play.“ Steve protested, but no one seemed to listen to him.

Tony hurried upstairs to get the cigars he had brought with him for just such an occasion and Tasha prepared drinks for all of them. She didn’t even have to ask what they wanted, she knew her boys well enough by now.

Bruce and Clint proceeded to explain the rules of Texas Hold’Em to Steve and Thor, but Steve wasn’t really listening. It was very untypical for him to be that unfocused and easily distracted. But lately his mind seemed to just wander off without him having any say in it. Daydreaming has never really been his thing until recently and it was unnerving!

“Penny for your thoughts.” Natasha sat down next to him, making Steve jump a little in surprise. She put down a glass of Whisky in front of him, which he happily took. Not for the drink inside, it took a lot to get Steve drunk thanks to the serum, but it gave him something to hold on to.

“Just… trying to remember the rules.” He didn’t even sound convincing to himself.

“You know Cap, sometimes it’s okay to break the rules.” Before Steve could ask her what she meant, Nat already got up again to continue making drinks. Rules were never meant to be broken.

Rules existed for a reason.

Without rules they couldn’t play the game.

Tony grabbed the cigars from his suitcase and went back downstairs. Everyone was already gathered around the poker table and Bruce was still trying to explain the rules to Thor, who seemed a bit upset about the special treatment.

He sat down between Clint and Bruce, right opposite him was their fearless leader, nursing a Whisky, Natasha to his left and Thor to his right.

Tony took out his phone and hooked it up to the stereo and “Paradise City” started to play.

“Let the games begin.”

As expected, Thor didn’t last long for the lack of bluffing skills. Tony couldn’t help but wonder how the game would have turned out if they had played against his brother Loki. Without all the murder and backstabbing, obviously.

Clint folded second, mumbling something about marked cards. Steve was the next to go. Tory had the impression, that Steve’s mind was somewhere else, far away from the poker table, so he wasn’t surprised when he excused himself after losing his last couple of chips.

At the end it was just him and Natasha left, and the Black Window showed absolutely no mercy. Not that Tony was expecting mercy from her but still, the joy she had stripping him of all his chips was brutal.

By the time they were finished it was nearly 2am and Bruce had fallen asleep with his head on the table.

“Do not worry, I will take the Green Man upstairs.” Thor picked up Bruce, like he weighed nothing and disappeared up the stairs to their floor with him.

“Guess I should leave you two as well. Tasha, a pleasure as always to lose to you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Stark.” She leaned in close to him and whispered: “Check on Steve.”

Tony looked at her in confusion, but she already stopped paying attention to him, taking Clint by the hand and disappearing out of the room.

Still frowning and wondering what Nat was on about, Tony went upstairs. The light in Steve’s room was still on so, he gently knocked on the door. “Steve?”

It took a moment before the door opened and Steve emerged. His hair was all messy like he had been lying in bed. His upper body was naked, and Tony had a hard time not just staring at the exposed body in front of him. Steve’s lower half was covered by the door, leaving the question of its nakedness to Tony’s imagination.

“Did I wake you?”

“Uhm no. What’s up?”

Steve was avoiding eye contact which was uncharacteristic of him. Tony remembered how it had irritated him at first that Steve always looked everyone directly in the eyes when they were talking, not breaking contact once. It had made him feel exposed, like Steve’s piercing blue eyes could see past all his defences and right into his soul. Now he didn’t mind so much anymore, to the contrary, he liked how Steve always paid so much attention to whoever he talked to. Especially when he talked to Tony. But now – nothing. Steve seemed to look everywhere but Tony and that was suspicious.

“No. Just wanted to check if you’re okay. You seemed a bit… off tonight.”

Steve rubbed the back of his neck. “Uhm, yeah, I guess I was thinkin about what happened. In New York I mean. Hope we’ll catch those rascals. Right, I should go back to bed. Good night.”

The door slammed shut I front of Tony. “Rascals?” He said to himself.

Shaking his head, he entered his own room and got undressed. Tony always slept naked. Just felt better that way.

Still mulling over Steve’s behaviour, he turned off the light and laid down in bed. Maybe Cap just had a little too much sun and it fried his brain.

Steve leaned against the door, listening to Tony’s footsteps. Only when he heard the other door close, did he move from his. “Rascals?” He was never going to hear the end of that one, but at least it made Tony go away. Steve looked down at himself. If only other things would go away that easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, sweet people. Next chapter coming soon!


	4. Day 3: Morning runs and drinking games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Steve go for a run, Clint get's kicked twice and dirty secrets are revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little longer than the previous ones and something resembling a plot emerges.  
Enjoy!

** Day 3: Morning runs and drinking games **

It was 5am in the morning when Tony’s alarm went off. He knew that Steve went running every morning at 5.30am. That freak. But Tony wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. He was going to get up and he was going to run with Steve, and he would not die. In five minutes. Just five more minutes.

At exactly 5.30am Tony stepped out of his room, fully dressed and ready for action. And for coffee. And more sleep. This was a terrible idea.

Tony was in the middle of a soul-destroying yawn, when Steve came out to the deck. He was wearing one of those impossibly tight shirts again, that made Tony’s mouth water. Steve looked very surprised to see Tony standing there in front of him.

“What are you doing here?”

Tony frowned at his tone. Steve, unlike him, was a morning person, sometimes disgustingly so. More than once his cheerfulness made Tony want to throw a mug at him in the morning. This was definitely not the case now. “Good morning to you too, Cap.”

Steve shook his head. “Yeah. Sorry. Morning.”

“We were supposed to go running together. Remember?” Tony asked. Steve’s behaviour was starting to worry him.

“Right. Let’s go then.”

Steve must have noticed Tony’s confused look, because he took a deep breath and shook his head again. “Sorry Tony. I… didn’t sleep well last night.”

Tony rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, if me tagging along is going to be a problem we can do it some other time.“ He sounded slightly hopeful. He could go get some coffee. Relax by the pool.

A small smile sneaked onto Steve’s face. “You won’t get out of it that easily. Just try to keep up.”

And off they went. Tony was very much aware of the fact that Steve was only going about half the speed he was capable of and he was also very aware of the Captain’s ass right in front of him. He tried his best to keep up with Steve, while at the same time trying not to die. It wasn’t like Tony was unfit, but it was nothing compared to the super-soldier.

After about 45 minutes Steve finally had mercy on Tony and slowed down. Tony was panting heavily, fighting for air. Steve turned around to check on him and couldn’t help himself but smile at the man in front of him. Tony’s hair was plastered against his moist forehead, his chest rapidly moving up and down, trying to get air into his lungs. “Alive?”

Tony looked up at him and gave him a crooked grin, holding up his thumb. With everyone else he would feel embarrassed about his current state.

But this was Steve.

It was always different with him. And that made him a little nervous. Tony was used to being in control over the things he did and felt. But this was neither the time nor the place to think about those sorts of things. This was the time to show Steve that he could keep up with him. “Let’s carry on. Or are you already giving up, old man?”

Steve snorted and put his hands on his hips, stepping closer to Tony, towering over him. “Is that how you want it?”

Tony looked up at him, his mouth suddenly bone-dry. _Yes, please._ Before he could say, or do, something stupid, Tony darted away, running towards the house.

It took Steve a second to realise what had just happened. “Hey!” He called after Tony and gave chase. It wouldn’t have been difficult to catch up and overtake the inventor, but watching Tony run for his pride and the triumphant smile he shot him after reaching the house first, was even better than winning himself.

When Steve walked up the stairs to the second floor, he could already hear Tony announce to everyone how he beat the great Steve Rogers, Captain America, the first super soldier.

And Steve let him.

The way his face lit up was just too sweet to disturb. Tony was just vividly describing how he made Steve eat dust when he caught Nat staring at him. Her intense gaze made Steve flinch a little and frown in confusion. She just rolled her eyes and her attention returned to Tony gesturing wildly like he always did when telling a story. A little awkwardly Steve excused himself and went upstairs to take a shower and freshen up.

Stepping into the shower, he thought about Nat’s expression, wondering what that was about. It was a similar look she shot him the previous night the poker game and a couple of times before, back in New York. She always seemed like she was able to read his mind and it never bothered him before, so why was it bothering him now? Nothing had really changed.

Everything was the same as always.

It wasn’t like he was thinking about something, or someone, in an inappropriate way, that would make him nervous about Natasha knowing.

It wasn’t like his thoughts got carried away when he looked at a certain genius.

It wasn’t like his body reacted to those thoughts in a way it hasn’t in a very long time.

It wasn’t like he was getting all hot and flustered when a particular person was smiling at him or even just looking at him.

Steve ran his hand over his face and took a deep breath, turning down the heat of the water.

No. Everything was completely normal and just like always. Nothing has changed.

When Steve finally stepped out of the shower and dried himself off, he realised he forgot to bring a set of fresh cloths with him to the bathroom. With the towel wrapped around his waist, Steve opened the bathroom door, still lost in thought and bumped into a body. It was only thanks to his quick reflexes, that he caught the towel before it hit the floor, quickly bending down and pulling it back up to cover his groin as best as he could, almost losing his balance as his wet feet slipped on the floor.

“Oh sh-“ He didn’t even get to finish swearing, interrupted by laughing. Their bodies were still very close, and Steve could feel Tony’s whole form shaking with laughter.

“I… Sorry. I’m just gonna… yeah…” Steve stammered and pushed past Tony to get to his room, slightly crouched over and still holding the towel against his front. Only his front.

As Steve pushed past him, his face all shades of pretty red, Tony automatically turned to look after him. He always thought Steve’s ass looked best in the Captain America uniform, all tight packaged and ready to be squeezed, but now he had to re-evaluate. Because this – this was just a whole other level. This was mouth-watering level. This was holding-yourself-back-from-running-after-him level. And all too quickly it was gone from his view again. He definitely needed a shower now. A nice, long warm shower.

Steve was sure he was going to die of embarrassment, when Tony, his hair still wet from the shower, made his way back downstairs to the middle floor, where he and the others were sitting on the sundeck. The sly grin on his face seemed to melt his insides and then there was that certain twinkle in Tony’s eyes, making him blush to his roots, which in turn made Tony grin even more. Steve sunk a bit lower in his chair, as if that would hide him from those dark brown eyes. Maybe he should have stayed upstairs and pretended to be unwell for the day. Or maybe next time he walks out of the bathroom he makes sure not to run groin first into one of his teammates.

“So, what are you up to today?” Tony asked, his eyes fixed on Steve.

“Hiking.”

“Hiking?”

Steve just nodded, unable to tear his eyes from Tony’s.

“Well, that sounds nice.” Steve nodded again and licked his lips. Why was his mouth so dry again? And why was he still blushing?

Neither of them noticed Bruce and Natasha looking back and forth between them.

“I think I might join you.” Tony slightly tilted his head, as if to ask if that would be okay.

“That… would be… good.” Since when was talking so difficult? This was all kinds of ridiculous. Steve’s palms were sweaty, and his heart was going at an abnormal rate and he was sure everyone could see it racing in his chest.

Nat kicked Bruce’s leg under the table and the scientist yelped. “Ow! I mean… Oh! That sounds like a great idea. Let’s all go for a hike!”

Tony looked over at his teammate, like he just noticed that there was someone else besides Steve sitting at the table. Steve could have sworn that for a brief moment there was disappointment on Tony’s face, before the man had his facial expressions back under control.

“Yes. That sounds great.”

Clint snorted and glanced over at Natasha. “That sounds dull.”

There was another kick under the table and Clint agreed that it was a great idea to go hiking together.

And so, they did. Bruce had packed snacks for all of them and Steve made sure, everyone carried enough water with them so they wouldn’t get dehydrated, also making sure that they put on plenty of sun lotion.

It was like having two overprotective parents, trying to take care of a herd of unruly teenagers.

That was also exactly how Clint and Thor behaved. Neither of them really wanted to be there going on a hike, but both were too afraid of Nat to say no. Now they were sulkily walking behind her and Steve, who were leading them through the little jungle of the island, Natasha’s small frame next to Steve’s broad shoulders. Bruce and Tony tailed along in the back.

“So,” Nat started and looked up at Steve.

It took Steve a lot of energy to not roll his eyes and to hold back the deep sigh, that was trying to force its way out.

“So what?” He asked innocently.

“So, what’s going on between you and Tony?”

_Like ripping off a band aid,_ Steve thought. Direct and quick. But definitely not gentle and it hurt a little. Or a lot. That’s how he would describe Natasha right now.

He kept walking in silence for a few moments before that sigh finally escaped him. “Nothing.”

This time Nat didn’t look at him, just kept walking by his side, seemingly taking in the scenery in front of them. They were surrounded by thick vegetation, fleshy green leaves, vines, flowers in shapes in colours Steve didn’t think possible and tree trunks so big that two men wouldn’t be able to span their arms around them. He made a mental note to come back some other time, so he could capture this beauty in his sketch book.

He was almost sure that Nat either hadn’t heard him or chose to give it a rest, but of course he wasn’t that lucky. This was Natasha Romanoff after all.

When she spoke again it was unusually soft. “Do you want there to be… something?”

That was the question that kept him awake at night. It was what he was thinking about almost every day. Did he want there to be something? Did he want Tony to look at him like he used to look at Pepper? Or did he just enjoy being close to someone - anyone? Was he just feeling comfortable with Tony as a friend or was there more? And if there was more on his side, was there also more on Tony’s side? If not and he said something, it could simply ruin everything they had. And if there was something for both of them then… Then what? They would live happily for two weeks and then kill each other? They would live happily for two weeks and then the team would kill them? They would live happily ever after?

There were too many questions and no answers, and it drove Steve nuts.

He glanced down at Natasha with a deep frown on his face, fishing for a reply, for anything that would make sense, and apparently that was answer enough for her.

“I know what you mean.” She looked over her shoulder at Clint and Steve smiled softly.

“Well done us.” This earned him a playful jab in the ribs and a smile from Nat.

Steve was very lucky to have a friend like her by his side. They both weren’t big talkers and her strength and composure gave Steve something he could relate to. When he first woke up from the ice, it was her who anchored him, who made him feel like there was a place for him in this world. It was also Nat who first dragged him out of the SHIELD compound to go and explore the new New York and in turn he showed her all his favourite spots from back in the day, at least the ones that still existed. He could honestly say that he loved Natasha. Not in a romantic or sexual way, but in a way that the Greeks called “Philia”, a deep and affectionate love that connected two people beyond physical attraction. He knew he could always count on her and vice versa.

Wrapping one arm around her shoulder he pressed a soft kiss on the top of her head, before letting her go again.

“At least we’ll always have each other.”

Behind them Tony was making a face, as he watched Steve kiss Nat’s head.

“What’s that about?” He asked out loud, not particularly addressing the man next to him. But Bruce answered anyways.

“They’re in love or something.” He certainly wasn’t serious about that, he knew for sure that Nat had her eye on another team mate and that her and Steve were just close friends.

Tony snorted at that and crossed his arms. “Sure, they are.” That came out way bitchier than he had intended and by the way Bruce was looking at him, he knew that he was about to be questioned by the scientist.

“Are you… jealous?”

“What? NO!” Tony replied defensively, too loud and too quick.

Bruce could barely contain the huge grin plastered across his face. Great.

“You are!” He sounded way to smug and there was a sort of glee in his voice that Tony usually just knew from himself.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. Why would I be jealous of Steve? I mean sure Nat is hot and when I first met her, I totally thought about her in that way and I might have flirted with her for a bit, but no. She is too intense. And scary. That woman could kill you with her thighs, Happy swore he saw her do it. I mean kill a man with her thighs do it, not do it do it, you know? Also just think about poor Clint, it would break his heart if I swooped her away from him, because let’s be honest, I could get her before he would. And if she wants to be with Steve, that’s great for her. I mean she could do worse. Probably did. Steve isn’t that bad. I mean if you like that obvious kind of handsome with the blond hair and blue eyes and all that muscle on the man, not to mention that as-… astronomical back. Not that I think that Steve is handsome. He probably is for others. Like Nat. Why are you looking at me like that?”

Bruce just kept grinning. He knew exactly what it meant when Tony was rambling. And he never heard him ramble on like that before.

“Oh, just shut up.” Tony huffed and walked faster to catch up with Thor and Clint in front of him.

For the rest of the hike Clint and Tony spend grumbling and complaining about having to go on a hike, all the while Tony tried his best not to stare at Steve’s backside in front of him. Meanwhile Thor stopped sulking and realised that hiking through a jungle was a lot of fun. He had a blast pointing out all the animals he could see, and Bruce did his best to help him identify them. Thor was especially fond of the colourful birds all around them as well as the delicate butterflies, that seemed to have taken a liking to him, a few of them landing on him. Bruce laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of the picture of the blond god with pretty little butterflies on his shoulders and arms.

Back at the house Tony immediately went to his room to have some time to himself. Well, to sulk actually.

He was sitting on one of the sofas, drink in hand and looked out of the window out onto the ocean.

He hated hikes.

He hated nature, always so full of insects and other creepy stuff.

He hated walking behind Steve. He hated the way Steve had hugged Natasha so close and how he had kissed her head.

He hated Bruce for thinking that he was jealous.

He hated how right Bruce was.

But what he hated the most was that in fact he did not hate any of it. Apart from the hike. He really hated the hike.

But Tony was so happy that Steve found such a good friend in Nat and that the man had someone he could trust.

Tony liked that Bruce knew him well enough to know that something was up and that he had the balls to point it out to him. There were only two other people in the world who knew him like that. And Pepper barely talked to him anymore, unless it was something about Stark Industries. After their kiss on the roof, with the Stark Expo exploding in the background they went on a few dates and then New York happened. And then… nothing. It wasn’t like Tony didn’t think that Pepper was attractive and smart and by far the most amazing woman he had ever met. He adored her and he wished he could love her in more than just a platonic way. He wished he could give her the love she deserved. Not that she needed him for that. But still, it hurt him when he saw her face drop after he explained to her that their one kiss was all that there would ever be.

Tony lifted the glass to his lips, just to find it empty.

Mumbling to himself, he got up for a refill. It would be easier if he could love Pepper. It would be easier if he could stop staring at Steve.

“But since when do I do easy?”

After a little more drinking and a little nap on one of the deck chairs by the upstairs pool, Tony made his way downstairs where the others were sitting on the sofa in the common room having dinner.

Clint turned around when Tony walked in. “Look who finally emerged from his cave.”

“Missed me, bird boy?”

Clint just rolled his eyes and made space for Tony on the sofa. Bruce wordlessly handed him a plate loaded with food. He knew Tony hadn’t eaten much today and as the “mother” and cook of the group he had to make sure all his hatchlings were eating properly. More or less.

Thor was happily stuffing his face with the pasta Bruce had prepared, while telling the group about how butterflies loved him because they could sense his godly powers. Everyone listened intently, smiling at Thor’s child-like enthusiasm. Only Steve didn’t seem to pay any attention to the story, staring at his plate as if he wanted the pasta to spill some secrets of national importance. Of course, Natasha immediately noticed how the super soldier tensed up as Tony walked in. She nudged Tony gently and raised an eyebrow at him when he gave her a puzzled look.

As much fun as it was to watch the two idiots tiptoe around each other, Natasha had decided it was time for Steve and Tony to get their shit together. She and Clint had talked about it at length after the hike and after some convincing, that may or may not have included some mild threats from Natasha, Clint had agreed with her. They also worked out a fool proof three step plan on how to get Steve and Tony together.

And it was time for step one.

“Hey, how about a game of “Never have I Ever?””

“So, the rules are as follows,” Nat started explaining. “Everyone writes down two things they want to find out if the others have done and put the slips of paper in this lovely hat donated by Clint.”

“Not mine.” He mumbled, looking at the purple fedora with disgust.

Ignoring him, Nat continued. “Then we take turns reading. If you have done the thing you drink and if you haven’t done it, you watch as the cool kids get wasted.”

Bruce chuckled at Nat’s description of the game. Naturally, he knew what this was actually about, he had noticed her and Clint whispering, plus he wasn’t stupid. It was painfully obvious that there was something going on between Steve and Tony and it was also obvious that the two of them were idiots, so this had the potential to be a lot of fun. And Bruce had already some great ideas about what to write on his papers.

They were all still sitting on the sofa, Steve practically wedged between Nat and Clint, as if to make sure he won’t get away, while Tony sat between Thor and Bruce. Instead of heaps of food, there was now a diverse and extensive collection of booze on the couch table. Apart from the usual stuff like Vodka, Whiskey and Tequila, there was also some of Thor’s Asgardian alcohol, since it was the only thing that could get him and Steve drunk. How convenient, that he brought four bottles of it with him.

Steve had tried to protest about playing the game but was quickly overruled by everyone. By the looks Nat and Clint exchanged and the way Bruce grinned to himself, he had the slight suspicion that this was not as spontaneous as it seemed. He glanced over at Tony who was sitting right across from him, and supressed a sigh, instead looking down on his pieces of paper trying to think of something to write.

“Right boys, who wants to start?” Nat asked, after everyone had finished writing and put their slips of paper in the unbelievably ugly hat.

Thor eagerly raised his hand. “I would be honoured to be the first.”

“That’s what he said.” Tony mumbled and earned an eyeroll from Bruce and a smirk from Clint.

The god picked the first slip and read, grinning. “Never Have I Ever Gone Skinny Dipping! What is skinny dipping?”

“Going swimming without any clothes.” Bruce explained, while lifting his glass to take a sip. So was everyone else. Including Steve.

“Really?” Clint asked.

Steve just shrugged, a small smile on his lips and drew the next slip before anyone could ask questions. “Never Have I Ever Thought Natasha Could Kill Me in My Sleep.”

Tony snorted. “Oh, come on!”

“Afraid to admit that you’re scared of me, Stark?”

“Admit? What’s there to admit? Anyone who isn’t convinced that you can kill them in their sleep, kill them in _your_ sleep, is lying!”

Tony took a mouthful of his drink, grinning at Nat over the rim of his glass.

“Ha! I do not think that the spider-woman can kill me. Not even in my sleep!” Thor declared proudly.

Natasha slowly put her drink down on the table, leaned back on the couch and just stared at Thor. She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, never blinking, her arms crossed.

Thor’s confident smile gradually dropped, as Nat kept staring at him. Eventually he picked up his drink, like the rest of them.

Clint and Tony were barely able to stop themselves from laughing at the slightly embarrassed expression on the god’s face.

“Okay chuckleheads, my turn.” Natasha picked a piece of paper and read out loud. “Never Have I Ever gotten I tattoo that I regret.”

No one reached for their drinks and there was a moment of silent.

“Do I… Do I still have to drink if I don’t regret the tattoo?”

Another moment of silence.

“Captain Rogers, are you telling us you have ink on you?”

Five pairs of eyes were fixed on the super soldiers, his friends faces showing a mixture of shock, astonishment and untamed curiosity.

“No. No I saw him at the pool and there was no tattoo.” Bruce reminded them.

Clint’s eyes widened. “That means it’s somewhere covered by a swimsuit.”

Everyone moved a bit closer to Steve, Tony’s idiotic grin almost reaching his ears. And then the questions came all at once, all five of them talking over each other, while simultaneously further closing in on him, until they were practically sitting on Steve’s lap. Which to be fair wasn’t that bad a thing, at least in Tony’s eyes.

“Where is it?”

“What is it?”

“When did you get it done?”

“Can we see it?”

Steve jumped to his feet, off the sofa, to get away from the hoard (can you call five people a hoard?) that was coming for him. Nat and Tony where right on his tail, Steve backing away until his back hit the wall and there was nowhere else to go.

“No place left to run, Captain.”

“Tell us.”

“Show us.”

Tony’s face lit up with almost manic joy, while Nat’s eyes were glistening with curiosity. Behind them Bruce, Clint and Thor got off the sofa as well, each of them grinning widely.

“No.”

Tony closed in a little more. “You have to. It’s in the rules.”

Steve raised an eyebrow, looking over at Bruce to confirm, that it was in fact in the rules. The scientist knew better than to go against Tony, so he nodded in agreement. “It’s in the rules.”

Steve looked at each of them in turn and crossed his arms. Naturally, he had figured out that they were lying, but he also knew that there was no shaking them. They looked like bloodhounds chasing their prey. And he was the prey.

Just thinking about being Tony’s prey, made Steve thoughts jump to a very different kind of situation, with a considerable lesser amount people involved. But to be fair it would include Tony seeing his tattoo.

No. Bad thought process. Abort mission. Focus.

“I will show you,” Steve started, but before he could get any further, he got interrupted by loud cheering and Clint’s wolf whistling.

“If you can guess what it is.”

As everyone’s smiles dropped, Steve’s face lightened up.

“But that’s impossible!”

“And not what the rules say.” Natasha protested.

He was grinning from ear to ear. “I know. But sometimes you should break the rules.”

Natasha took another step toward Steve and narrowed her eyes on him, just like she had done before with Thor. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t as lucky this time. It took a bit more than her glaring at Steve to intimidate him. Not much more, but still. Also, he really enjoyed teasing his friends like that.

“Is it a heart?” Clint asked.

Bruce shook his head. “Too cliché. How about a butterfly?”

“Because that’s less cliché?” Tony asked.

“In Asgard, some warriors etch the number of foes they defeated into their skin.”  
Now all eyes were fixed on Thor, looking at the god, Steve’s mouth opened and closed again, his smile replaced by a frown.

“Anyways,” Tony interrupted the silence. “I think it’s a pin up girl.”

They continued like this for about half an hour, Steve’s favourite guesses being a unicorn (Thor), a dagger (Natasha) and a tramp stamp (Clint). They had also decided that it was a good idea to take a shot every time someone made a wrong guess. Which was a lot. So, by the time Bruce called an end to the madness, they were already quite tipsy. Out of solidarity, Steve drank with them and he started to feel the effects of Thor’s Asgardian liquor.

“Forget it, we’ll never find out.” Tony threw his hand up in frustration. He hated not getting his way. And he hated not knowing. He was also slightly turned on by the fact that Steve had a tattoo somewhere that it covered by swim shorts. And by slightly, he meant a lot. The thought of going to find out where the tattoo was, just the two of them, alone, in a bed, made his pants grow a little tighter.

Tony’s eyes moved over to where Steve was sitting. He had a big victorious grin plastered on his face. A blush had crept up his neck, making his cheeks glow and Tony’s knees weak. Good thing he was sat down.

To distract himself from Steve’s… well everything, Tony picked the next slip out of the hat. “Never have I ever given or received a lap dance.” He read. “Oh, please who hasn’t?”

Nat shrugged and picked up her drink. “True.”

“I haven’t.” Steve admitted, as everyone else but him and Bruce drank.

Oh, Tony would be more than happy to change that for him.

“Seriously?” Clint asked in disbelieve, shaking his head.

“Maybe it’s because Cap and I have standards.”

“Maybe Cap and you need to get laid.”

Tony would also be happy helping with that.

Bruce just rolled his eyes at Clint. Not that he was wrong. But still.

“Clint be nice. And read the next one.” Tasha ordered with a more or less playful stern look.

The archer knew better than to argue with Nat, also they were on a mission tonight and teasing Bruce wasn’t part of it. Maybe he’d take some time to do it tomorrow.

“Alright. Never have I ever tried to see how many marshmallows can fit into my mouth. Who wrote that? A five-year old?”

Thor looked a little hurt and embarrassed. “The lady Darcy ensured me it was an important tradition anytime friends gather for sleepovers. I…” Thor hesitated, staring down at his hands in his lap. “I was beginning to wonder why we haven’t upheld the tradition and I wanted to find out if it was because you were unaware of this tradition or… or because you do not consider us friends.”

Upon hearing this everyone stopped smiling and moved over to Thor. Bruce immediately had one arm wrapped around Thor’s middle, Tony took one of his hands and Nat climbed over the sofa behind the god and hugged his back, placing her head on his shoulders. Clint knelt down in front of him between his legs, with his head resting on Thor’s knee, while Steve scooched over, next to Tony and grabbed Thor’s other hand.

“You are right. We don’t consider you a friend. You are family.” Steve declared, squeezing the god’s hand.

The others nodded in agreement. “This is our family. We found it all on our own. It’s little, and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good.” Nat whispered in his ear. She knew he loved Disney movies and he especially loved “Lilo and Stitch”, for obvious reasons.

Thor’s lips twitched slightly, as he looked at the people around him. There was so much love in their eyes, and he felt like he was wrapped up in a warm cocoon. They were right, this was his family and he wouldn’t want to trade them for the world.

“So, do families try to see how many marshmallows they can fit in their mouth?” He asked carefully.

Clint beamed up at Thor. “Absolutely!”

They stayed like that for a moment longer, just enjoying the closeness. All of them had suffered before, had lost people they loved, got betrayed by people they trusted, and had their hearts broken. But what they had here, right now, was all that mattered. They had people who would lay their lives down in front of them, who would protect them from harm and hurt, and would love them beyond the grave.

“As wonderful and touching as this is, if you keep squeezing my hand like this, Thor, it’s going to fall off.” Tony winced.

Thor chuckled and let go of Tony’s hand. Nat placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, before she too moved back to her place on the sofa, and so did the rest of them. Minus the kiss.

To break the slightly awkward silence, Bruce drew the next slip of paper out of the ugly hat.

He started laughing before reading out loud. “Never have I ever had sex in a public place.”

Tony rolled his eyes and reached for his drink again. “I knew this game was a bad idea.”

“Since when do you think drinking is a bad idea?” Clint teased.

“It’s only bad when you do it alone.” Tony looked at the others. “Awe come on guys, don’t leave me hanging.”

Reluctantly Bruce raised his glass, his eyes downcast “Don’t ask.” He mumbled and drank. Tony made a mental note to ask him about that later, because there was no way in hell that he was not going to find out about the time Bruce had sex in public. By the way the rest of them were grinning, Tony was sure that there were going to be some probing questions from them as well. He almost felt sorry for Bruce. Almost.

Saving Bruce from a round of embarrassing questions, Steve continued the game. “Okay, never have I ever… seriously?” The super soldier looked over to Tony and raised a brow at him. “Never have I ever wished I was as smart as Tony.”

An annoyed groan went through the crowed and Nat hit Tony on the arm. “Ow!” It didn’t really hurt, it was just a reflex. And the fact that Tony was a drama queen. “You’re all just upset because it’s true. You do wish you were as smart as me.” This time it was a pillow thrown by Clint, hitting his face and Tony’s shocked and overly theatrical facial expression made Steve laugh out loud.

“Oh, I’m glad my pain brings joy to you.”

“Your pain always brings joy to us.” Bruce mumbled, earning a glare from Tony. The next pillow hit Bruce in the face, Natasha narrowing her eyes at him.

“Behave.”

“What did I do?”

“You hurt my feelings.” Tony put his best puppy dog eyes on, which to be fair wasn’t even half as good as Steve’s, but it was definitely funnier.

“You have feelings?” Steve asked jokingly.

Tony fixed his eyes on the other man and almost let something slip. Something along the lines of: “Give me thirty minutes alone with you and I show you what kind of feelings I have,” or “How about you put some feeling in me.” But he kept his mouth shut for once and just looked down at his drink.

“No witty reply, Stark? Are you dying?” Clint joked, earning him a kick under the table from Natasha. That was the second time today and he could already feel the bruises forming under his skin. If she kept going like that, he would look worse than after a fight against the villain of the week, which seriously made him consider holding his tongue and cutting back on the snide comments. But that would be wrong.

Instead of calling Nat out on bruising his poor body, Clint drew the second to last slip of paper. The one he was waiting for still hadn’t been read and he hoped it was finally time. But no luck yet. “Never have I ever watched keeping up with the Kardashians.”

Steve shot Thor a panicked look.

It all started a few months ago, when Steve couldn’t sleep and actually got bored of the gym, so instead he wandered into the common room where he found Thor sitting on the sofa with a giant bowl of chips. On the TV there were a bunch of loud women shouting at each other and Thor shouting at them.

“Am I interrupting?” Steve asked carefully, slowly approaching the sofa.

Thor turned around in surprise, he had been too absorbed in the program to notice Steve walking in.

“Oh, Kim just told Kris that she can’t buy the same Christmas decorations as her, because last year Kourtney stole all her decorating ideas from Kim and we really don’t want to repeat that.”

Steve blinked in confusion. “What?”

And before he knew it, he and Thor met up at least once a week in either one of their rooms to eat popcorn and watch the show together.

About three weeks into their little ritual, Steve overheard Natasha and Tony moan about how stupid the show was and so Steve made Thor promise to keep their nightly adventures a secret.

And up until now it never had been a problem.

Thor raised an eyebrow at Steve, who shook his head in the slightest way possible.

The problem with having a super spy for a friend is that no matter how much you try to hide something, there is no way said friend isn’t going to find out anyways. Meaning that Natasha noticed the exchange and immediately narrowed her eyes at them.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing!” The two of them responded at the same time.

Obviously now everyone had caught onto the fact that something was up and being true to their nature, they instantly started bombarding Thor with questions, knowing better than to try to break Steve’s silence.

“Thor?” Nat asked sweetly.

“Thor, tell us what’s going on.”

“Thor, I know you want to tell us.”

“Just ignore grandpa, tell us.”

The blonde god shot Steve a desperate look, they both knew he was going to break, that the pressure and the questioning and curious stares from everyone was just too much for him. Steve couldn’t let them break him, he was a soldier after all and when he saw one of his men under fire, he couldn’t just leave him behind. He was the Captain.

So, Steve took a deep breath and readied himself for the ridicule. “Thor and I watch Keeping up with the Kardashians every Sunday night. Yes, we wear our pyjamas, yes we eat popcorn and yes we are ashamed of it.”

Tony’s grin was brighter than the sun, while Clint and Nat looked honestly disgusted.

“I just lost so much respect for you, Cap.” Bruce sounded disappointed and a little hurt. “Why didn’t you invite me?”

“Do you enjoy the lives of the Kardashian clan as well?” Thor asked happily, Bruce nodded ignoring the disbelieving expressions on Tony, Nat and Clint’s faces. Before those three could get a word in edge wise, Thor, Bruce and Steve started talking about the show, who was their favourite Kardashian and how excited they were about the new season.

“Why are we friends with those people?” Clint mumbled, shaking his head.

“Because they are the only ones stupid enough to have us damaged nutjobs.”

“Speak for yourself, Stark.”

“Shut up, Barton.”

“Shut up both of you.” Natasha hissed. There was still one slip of paper in the hideous hat and she was not gonna let that one go. That was the one she had been waiting for all evening, it was an essential part of her and Clint’s plan. Well, her plan actually. Clint was present when she cooked it up.

She returned her attention to the chattering trio of weirdos. “Okay as much fun as it is to watch you embarrass yourselves like this, all of you still need to drink. And I think I speak for all of us when I say that for this one you have to drink double.” Clint and Tony nodded in agreement and even though the three of them looked annoyed at the close-mindedness of Natasha and the others, they complied and drank.

Satisfied, Nat watched them drink. All of them were a little tipsy, even Steve and that was the important part. The more drunk someone was, the worse they were at lying and what she needed right now was for Steve to be as bad a liar as possible.

Suppressing a smile, she picked the last piece of paper.

“Right boys, last one. Never have I ever fantasised about a team mate.”

Steve’s smile dropped immediately, before he could stop himself his eyes darted over to Tony, who in turn tried to kill Natasha by sheer willpower. Bruce and Clint were both trying their best not to laugh, while Thor was visibly confused by the sudden tension in the air.

“So?” Nat asked, eyebrow raised, eyes fixed on Steve, arms crossed, her tone challenging.

Steve’s jaw twitched. All of this made sense now, her and Clint insisting on playing this stupid game, them whispering behind everyone’s back, Nat’s questions earlier that day on the hike.

How could she show him up like this after he confided in her? He had trusted her and now this.

He slammed his drink down onto the table and got up. “You know what, I think the night is over.” His voice hard and cold. Without a second glance at her, or anyone else, he went upstairs.

Nat was about to follow him, but Clint held her back shaking his head. He didn’t know Steve as well as she did, but he knew that it would be better to let him blow off some steam first.

Thor leaned over to Bruce and whispered quite loudly. “Is the Captain enraged because he lost the game?”

Bruce sighed and shook his head. “I’ll explain later.” He glanced over at Tony, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

“I think I’ll also… go.” He mumbled more to himself than anyone in particular. “Night.”

As he walked up the stairs Tony didn’t hear Natasha tell Clint that she was sure this was going to work, he didn’t hear Bruce explaining to Thor why Steve was so upset, and he also didn’t hear the four of them brainstorming better ways to get him and Steve together. What he did hear was Steve pacing in his room, heard him talking to himself. Steve never talked to himself, so this was all kinds of red flags. And who was Tony to back away from a red flag. hat would insinuate him being sane.

He knocked on Steve’s door.

The pacing stopped, but the door didn’t open.

“Steve?” No reply.

“Steve, I know you’re in there and I know you’re not asleep.” Still only silence.

“Come on man, I hate talking to a door. So unresponsive. Not that that would stop me from talking. You know I can on and on and on forever. And you’re gonna open this door eventually. I could smoke you out with more of my hilarious drunken adventures. For instance, have I told you about the time I accidentally broke into a zoo to free all the meercats? Now you’re probably wondering how one does accidentally break into a zoo-“ Before he could go on the door opened and Tony was faced with a very pissed off looking Captain America.

Steve’s chest was rising and falling rapidly, his lips pressed together tightly forming a thin line, brows furrowed, jaw twitching. Even when someone messed up during a mission, Steve didn’t look this upset.

“Did you enjoy that?” It was barely a whisper, more like a growl, low and fuelled with barely contained rage. Tony took an involuntary step back. He’s never seen that side on Steve before and it was more than just slightly unnerving.

“What? That? Oh, come on Steve it was just a game.” He tried to play it off with a wave of his hand and something must have snapped inside of Steve. He lunged forward, catching Tony’s wrist with his own hand, the other one grabbing onto his shoulder, pinning Tony against the wall behind him. Thanks to the serum, Steve was way too fast for Tony to react and too strong for him to get out of the soldier’s grip. Tony could feel the hot breath on his skin, as Steve’s face was just inches from his own.

“I do not appreciate you playing your games with me, Stark.”

For once in his life he didn’t know how to respond. No comeback. No witty remark. No cheesy one-liner. All Tony could do was stare up into Steve’s eyes, no longer brilliant blue but dark, pupils dilated to the fullest. Tony’s muscles were tense under Steve’s grip, his skin hot everywhere their bodies touched. And one place they didn’t touch.

The moment probably didn’t last longer than a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity.

Until Steve pushed himself away from Tony, as if repelled by the smaller man.

Without another word he slammed his bedroom door shut behind him and turned the lights off inside.

Tony, still unable to move, stared at the door, as if it would open again any second and Steve would come back out and… And what? And finish what he started?

He continued to stand there, staring at Steve’s bedroom door for a moment, until his hands stopped shaking before he went into his own room, closing the door gently, as if to make up for Steve slamming his.

And he thought him going running was the weirdest thing that could happen.


	5. Day 4: Cuddles and bad advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last nights drinking game caused more than just a little tension. Maybe a boat trip and an eating contest could fix things?

** Day 4: Cuddles and bad advice  **

The next morning was uncharacteristically quiet. Steve didn’t leave his room, not even for his usual morning run. So, it was just the five of them sitting around the breakfast table and apart from Thor no one was eating. Not that Tony was eating in the morning anyways, he could live on coffee for all he cared, and if it wasn’t for Bruce pestering him about it all the time he would. Now here they were sitting in silence, Nat and Clint looking like two beaten dogs, while Thor shoved waffles into his mouth and Bruce stared very intensely into his muesli bowl.

“Okay, this is ridiculous!” Tony exclaimed. “Are we just going to sit here in silence and ignore the fact that something’s off with Cap?”

Thor nodded in agreement. “It is very foolish, that our Captain is upset, just because he is in love with you.”

Four things happened at once. Bruce nearly chocked on his muesli, Tony spit out his coffee, Clint banged his head against the table and Natasha threw a bagel at Thor.

“What did I tell you last night!?”

“You told me Steve loves Tony.” Thor repeated in confusion, brushing bagel crumbs off his shirt.

“And what did I tell you after that?” Nat asked.

The god thought for a moment before his face fell in shock and he looked at Tony. “Don’t tell Tony.”

“Don’t tell Tony!” She repeated, throwing another bagel.

“Okay could we stop throwing carbohydrates around and focus on the fact that Steve is… Steve is… he’s…” Tony couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud. If it weren’t for the very strong reactions of everyone around the table, he would have just done it off as one of Thor’s jokes or misunderstandings. But Bruce hasn’t recovered form his almost deadly incident with his breakfast, Clint stopped banging his head against the table, but was still hiding his face in his hands and Natasha still looked like she was about to murder Thor.

“Someone tell me this is a bad joke!” He demanded.

Silence.

“People!”

Nat sighed and shook her head. “Come on Tony don’t tell me you haven’t noticed it. I mean really think about the last couple of months.”

And he did. He thought back to last month when his insomnia got the better of him again, so he went to the common room to watch an old black and white movie, like he did when he was a child, and fell asleep on the sofa. He had woken up a few hours later covered by a blanket, Steve sitting next to him with a hot chocolate in his hand and a second mug on the table for him.

He thought back to all the times Steve came down to his workshop to bring him something to eat, because he knew that Tony forgot to eat when he was working.

He thought back to all the times he had caught Steve looking at him from across the room.

He thought back to the night after the poker game and how odd Steve had behaved.

He thought back to last night.

“Oh fuck.”

Bruce nodded in agreement. “Fuck indeed.”

Tony shook his head. “No. Nope. Can’t be. Won’t be. He’s not. He can’t be. No.”

Clint finally removed his hands from his face, just so he could roll his eyes at Tony. “Yeah because that’ll make Steve’s feelings go away.”

“There are no feelings. No one feels anything for anyone. No feelings. No.”

Natasha kicked his leg under the table. She really did that a lot lately, but that was to be expected, when she was surrounded by imbeciles all the time. “Snap out of it Stark! For some reason, that will forever be a mystery to me and the rest of mankind, Steve is in love with you. Now if it were up to me, I wouldn’t have told you, at least not like this, but thanks to the god of idiocy over here,” she gestured towards Thor, “my plans went out the window.”

“Like the plan with the _Never Have I Ever_ game last night?” Bruce asked, ducking just in time to avoid another airborne breakfast food. Clint grabbed the last of the bagels for himself before that too would get a flying lesson by Natasha.

“That was planned?” Tony asked and now it was his turn to burry his head in his hands. Even with his brain working as fast as it did, and it did work very fast, he couldn’t comprehend the information he was just given. It was just too much. Steve liked, no loved, him. How was that possible? How could he not have known earlier? And what was he supposed to do now?

Apparently, his face, even hidden, betrayed his emotions because Bruce placed an arm around Tony’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”

“Yeah Nat and I have a plan!” Clint grinned triumphantly.

Tony turned into Bruce and buried his face in the other man’s shoulder. “Oh god.”

On their first day here, they had planned to all go on a boat tour around the island and rented one for today. They send Thor upstairs to go and get Steve, figuring he would be the least mad at him and also Thor had something no one else of them had. Puppy eyes. So really Thor was the best, and only, chance to lure Steve out of his bedroom.

Half an hour later, Thor was back downstairs. Alone. And with an expression on his face neither of them had seen before. He looked like his spirit had been crushed, the usual twinkle in his eyes completely gone.

“Oh my go- Thor what happened?” Clint asked confused. He walked over to the blonde man and for the first time in while he felt the urge to hug another person.

Thor was looking at the floor. “Uhm… Steve doesn’t want to join us.”

“Yeah we figured as much.” Bruce mumbled.

Natasha crossed her arms, eyebrows knitted together tightly. “Thor, what did he say to you?”

He just shrugged and still looked at the floor.

“Thor. Talk to us.”

After a sullen silence, he finally replied. “He… he said he was very upset with us and that he did not want to talk to anyone, because he couldn’t trust us anymore.”

“And?” Natasha pried, knowing that that wasn’t all.

“And then I asked if him and me should just stay here while you guys go and if he wanted to see how many marshmallows we can fit into our mouths and he said...”

“What did he say?” Bruce asked gently.

“He said that only real friends do that.” His answer was barely a whisper. “He also used some bad language words.”

It took Natasha a great deal of self-control not to storm upstairs, kick in the door to Steve’s bedroom and make him feel sorry for ever waking up from the ice. It was one thing to be angry at her, that was fine, after all it was her stupid idea with the game. But he was not allowed to talk to Thor like that. For all his muscles and his being a god and all, everyone knew that Thor was a big softy inside. He cries during Disney movies. He got upset when someone was trying to kill a spider. Every time someone was feeling bad for whatever reason, he was the first trying to cheer them up. Thor was a ray of sunshine, his favourite pyjamas had unicorns on them for heaven’s sake! And after Thor opened up to everyone last night, about him not being sure if they were friends, let alone a family, such a comment from Steve was just unacceptable.

Clint immediately knew what was going on in her mind and was by her side in a second, leaning in close to whisper in her ear. “Don’t. You can take care of Steve later. Thor needs us now.”

Nat knew that he was right, but that didn’t make her any less angry. None the less she walked over to Thor and looped her arm through his, just as Bruce did the same on his other side.

“I think it’s time for a boat tour.”

Steve knew he was out of line. He knew that what he said was horrible and that he had hurt Thor and he was honestly feeling guilty about it. The moment the words left his lips, he felt a pang of regret and he regretted even more, that he didn’t go after Thor to apologize. He was just so… angry. 

He had trusted Natasha, for the first time since he got out of the ice, he had really trusted someone. Steve knew she liked to play games and be in control of everything and everyone. He just thought she wouldn’t be like that with him. Guess he was wrong.

Steve ran a hand through his hair and eyed his half-packed suitcase on the bed. He had been packing his things when Thor had interrupted him and now his resolve of leaving the island and returning back home to New York weakened by the second. First, he needed to apologize to Thor and then he could leave. Maybe he needed to apologize to Tony as well for last night. But then he would leave.

He sighed and pushed the suitcase off the bed so he could lie down on it instead. Pulling the blanket over his head, he closed his eyes. He felt like crap and he knew that he deserved it.

“Maybe I should just crawl back into the ice.” He mumbled to himself.

The boat was more a yacht, with a small kitchen and a bedroom in the lower deck.

And that was exactly where Tony and Thor were hiding. They didn’t feel like sunbathing with the others, even though it was a beautiful day. Or maybe because it was such a beautiful day, the sunshine and soft waves standing in such a stark contrast to their gloomy mood.

Even with Natasha’s and Bruce’s affirmations and promises that yes, they were a family and no, Steve didn’t mean what he said, Thor was still hurt. Too often he had ignored harmful words from people he considered family, just to be betrayed by them. Of course, he knew that Steve wasn’t Loki, but still, the pain burning in his chest was the same. So, instead of enjoying a lazy morning in the sun with Bruce, Nat and Clint, he was lying on the giant bed next to Tony.

Tony meanwhile was brooding about what he had learned at the breakfast table. Steve liked him. Liked him like he used to like Peggy. Liked him like Tony hoped to like Pepper. What the hell was he supposed to do with that information?! It’s not like he could walk up to Steve and tell him: “Hey there Captain America, a former assassin told the God of Thunder that you have a crush on me, so I thought I might ask you if you wanted to go to the homecoming dance with me.”

Maybe he shouldn’t call him “Captain America” when he asked him. Maybe he shouldn’t ask him. Maybe he should just pretend that he didn’t know any of this and then surely it would go away. Yes. That was a good plan.

“That’s a good plan.” He mumbled to himself.

“What is?”

Tony flinched, he had forgotten that Thor was lying next to him. “Nothing.” He looked over at Thor and sighed, upon seeing his sad face. “Ignoring what you accidently told me. That’s a good plan.”

Thor thought for a moment, then tilted his head slightly. “Are you too upset?” He asked quietly.

Tony frowned and shook his head. “No. Maybe a bit. But-“ He immediately stopped talking, when he noticed how Thor buried his face in a cushion. “No. Oh no, no. Thor I’m not upset with you! Why would I?”

Thor muttered something into the pillow.

“What?”

The god lifted his head but didn’t look at Tony. “Because I’m the one who informed you about Captain Roger’s feelings for you.”

He couldn’t hold back a short bark of laughter. “Thor, you were the only one with enough balls to actually tell me. I’m upset about the information, not the messenger.”

Thor finally looked at him, doubt in his eye. “Believe me man, I’m not upset about you. And Steve’s a dick for what he said.”

Tony turned to his side, tugging an arm under his head. “Now the question is: what do we do about this whole mess?”

“I have a plan!” Natasha announced to Bruce and Clint, who both groaned in unison.

“No. No more plans, Nat. No more schemes, no more games.” Clint sat up from where he was lying next to Bruce. “We’ve done enough.”

“But-“

“No!”

Nat raised her eyebrow at Bruce. No one ever dared to interrupt her, not even Clint, let alone Bruce. “Tasha, Clint is right, we have done enough. Steve is in his room, probably packing his things to leave, while Thor and Tony are downstairs both of them in a state, I never thought I would see them in. I don’t think more meddling would do anyone any good!”

Clint blinked in surprised at Bruce’s outburst. “Yeah. What he said.” As much as he agreed with Natasha, that Tony and Steve should just finally get together, Bruce was right. All they achieved was upsetting three people, that were really dear to them and the last thing he wanted to do was make it worse.

“You don’t understand!” Nat sat up and put her book down. “I did this. I hurt them. So, I need to fix it!” Her teeth were clenched, and she had that distant angry look on her face again. But this time it wasn’t because she was upset with Steve or anyone else, she was angry at herself. She was angry because Bruce was right: her meddling did cause more harm than good, and that was never her intention. She just wanted her friends to be happy and she knew that Steve and Tony could make each other happy. She needed to fix this. She needed them to be happy.

Suddenly there was an arm around her shoulders and Nat looked up at Clint. “I need to fix this.” She whispered and he pulled her into a hug.

“I know.” He kissed her cheek. “I know.”

The soft rocking of the waves combined with the lack of sleep on Tony’s side and Thor’s emotional exhaustion, made them both fall asleep next to each other on the big bed. At some point during their nap, they must’ve reached out for each other and so when Tony woke up, he had Thor’s arms wrapped tightly around him, imprisoning Tony in a giant bear hug. To be fair it wasn’t the worst or even the weirdest thing Tony had woken up to but holding hands with the Norse God of Thunder definitely made it into his top ten list.

Not that it was bad, it was just something he never expected to happen.

Tony knew that what Thor needed more than anything else right now, was to feel loved and wanted, so instead of pulling away, Tony wrapped his free arm around the other man, the other one still tugged beneath his head. They stayed like that for a little while longer, Tony drifting in and out of sleep, until someone came walking down the stairs into the small bedroom.

“It’s times like this that I wish I carried a camera with me.” Clint’s voice rang. Tony rolled his eyes and lifted his head slightly to look at him, the movement waking up Thor.

“Hey there big guy.”

Thor smiled sleepily at Tony, maybe not noticing that they were hugging or maybe he just didn’t mind. Tony had no idea how the Asgardian’s regarded situations like this, and it was quite possible, that this was just normal to them. Either way Tony didn’t mind and instead of getting up, he went back to resting his head next to Thor’s.

Without another word Clint climbed into the bed next to Tony, or at least he tried to. One of the things his past lovers always complained about, was that when Tony slept, and heaven knows that wasn’t often, he took up the whole bed like a starfish, all of his limbs stretched out in every direction, leaving no room for anyone else.

“Move your lazy ass, Stark.”

“Fuck off, Barton.”

When Clint didn’t return from downstairs after twenty minutes, Nat and Bruce went to investigate, expecting something must have happened.

And they weren’t disappointed.

They found Tony and Thor facing each other, still hugging, while Clint was basically clinging to Tony’s back, spooning him.

Natasha smiled softly at the picture. They looked warm, comfortable and content. She looked at Bruce next to her who seemed a little nervous. She knew that he hated confined spaces, always afraid that something would trigger the Hulk and in a small space like this he could do a lot of damage.

Nat reached for his hand and squeezed it gently to calm him down a little and nodded towards the bed. Bruce, still tense, frowned and squeezed her hand in reply, before climbing into bed next to Thor. Eventually she joined them as well, taking her place next to Clint.

“I’m sor-“

“Shut up, Romanoff.” Tony grumbled and closed his eyes again.

Just as everyone on the boat hid away from the sun and settled into bed, Steve finally made his way out of his bed and went downstairs to find the house empty. Looking out on the ocean, he remembered the boat trip they had all planned together and felt another surge of guilt. He needed to find a way to fix this and quickly. Those people were everything he had in this world and he was damned if one outburst, one moment of utter stupidity was the reason he lost them.

So, he got to work.

It was already late noon, when the others returned from the boat, Thor had his arm draped around Tony’s shoulder on one side and Bruce’s on the other. His laughter could be heard all the way from the path leading up to the house.

Steve wrung his hands nervously. Everything was set up nicely and just perfect but that didn’t mean they would accept it. Accept him.

Steve paced around in the kitchen. Sat back down. Got up again. Why did it take them so long to walk up the stairs? He rearranged the plates on the dining table.

“And then I proclaimed: Nay you are the chicken!” Thor’s laughter rang through the house again, just as they all walked into the common room.

Steve immediately whirled around, facing them. The laughter and chatting stopped the second they spotted Steve standing there, with his hands behind his back, rocking nervously back and forth on his feet. Five pairs of eyes stared at him and he could feel his palms getting sweaty. He’s never been this nervous in his life.

“I-“ Steve didn’t know what to say, so he just stepped aside, so the others could see the table behind him. It was laden with food. There were Nat’s favourite ice cream flavours, the pasta Bruce liked so much, three different kinds of coffee for Clint, cheeseburgers for Tony and a variety of pop tarts for Thor, as well as a huge variety of other food. And a big bowl of marshmallows.

“I-“ He started again but was interrupted by a Norse God charging at him. Before he knew it, he was being pulled into a rib crushing hug.

“I’m sorry.” Steve breathed, making Thor squeeze him even harder. “Okay. Air. Getting hard to breath. Thor!”

It took Thor a few more seconds until he was ready to release Steve from his hug. They looked at each other, no words were exchanged but they understood. Steve still felt guilty, but the small smile Thor gave him was reassuring. Now he just needed to make amends with everyone else.

Steve turned towards them, while Thor already started on destroying the mountain of poptarts. Clint started towards the table to get to the coffee but was held back by the look Natasha gave him. If anyone could beat you into submission with one glace, it was her.

Taking a deep breath, Steve walked over to her with a tub of her ice cream in his hands as a peace offering. “Natasha.”

“Captain.” She tried to keep her voice cold, but there was an unmistakable undertone of anger.

“I messed up.” He admitted, clinging to the ice cream in his hands like his life depended on it. His whole body was tense, and he was barely able to hold eye contact with Natasha. But he’d be dammed if he was the first one to look away. He needed her to know that he meant business, that he knew he made a mistake and that it wouldn’t happen again.

Finally, she shrugged and her tilted her head slightly to the side. “Well, so did I.”

“Doesn’t mean I appreciate what happened last night.”

Nat reached for the ice cream and averted her eyes. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

Steve had to admit he was more than surprised, that Nat actually apologised, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Okay so does this mean we’re all friends again? And more importantly, can I have the coffee now?” Clint asked.

Natasha already had a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth, Thor was halfway through the poptarts and Bruce had started on his pasta mumbling something along the lines of it getting cold.

“I take that as a yes.” He said more to himself and made his way to his beloved coffee.

The only one who wasn’t moving or saying anything was Tony. There was one more apology Steve needed to make and it was by far the hardest.

But when Steve approached Tony, he quickly joined the others around the table, leaving Steve standing there by himself. “Oh, look cheeseburgers!”

He didn’t even look at Steve. And that hurt the most. But he couldn’t expect Tony to just forgive him like that for how he had treated him last night. Just thinking about the way he shoved Tony against the wall and the way he had spoken to him with his voice full of anger made Steve feel very uncomfortable. Remembering how he had pressed his body against Tony’s- No! He really, really needed to stop thinking about Tony like that. There was just no point. Even if Tony wouldn’t be pissed at him, nothing would ever come of this and the sooner Steve accepted that, the better.

Steve turned to the others and put on his best fake smile. “Right, shall we see who can fit the most marshmallows in their mouth?”

It was a very close call between Clint and of course Thor. Both of them were too stubborn to let the other one win, so they ended up shoving more and more marshmallows into their mouths until Clint accidently inhaled one and nearly chocked. Naturally, Natasha fell into a laughing fit, because in her opinion choking on a marshmallow was the glorious death Clint deserved. Thor meanwhile took Clint nearly dying as a sign for his own victory, celebrating it by jumping on the sofa and raising his arms into the air and shouting… something. Since his mouth was still stuffed with the fluffy white treats, it was impossible to understand him. At least it was for normal humans.

“For Asgard.” Tony translated when he noticed the confused looks from everyone else.

“How?” Bruce asked and Tony just shrugged his shoulders, with a sly smile on his lips that no one dared to ask about.

Clint finally recovered from his near-death experience and flopped down on the sofa where Thor has finally collapsed onto as well. “I think they had a moment in bed on that boat.”

Now it was Steve’s turn to almost choke on his food. He quickly turned away praying to god no one noticed, and he was almost lucky enough to get away with it. But he should have known better with Nat in the room. And if it weren’t for the fight they just had, she would have called him out on it. The odd thing was that it felt wrong that she said nothing and instead just joined Thor and Clint on the sofa. Sure, neither of them was openly mad at him anymore, apart from maybe Tony, but Steve could feel that there was still some resentment. Hopefully they just needed to spend some more time together to get back to normal.

Steve was fighting the urge to leave and just hide in his room again, but instead he sat down on the sofa with them.

“So… what’s for dinner?” Clint asked after a moment.

“You just ate an unholy amount of food. You nearly choked on marshmallows. How can you possibly be still hungry?!” Nat asked with slight disgust.

Clint just shrugged his shoulders and shoved some gummy bears into his mouth.

“The Hawkeye and I just took part in a mighty battle. Therefor we need sustenance!” Thor clarified.

“You had an eating competition!”

“Well technically it wasn’t an eating competition. It was a stuff-food-into-your-mouth competition. That’s different.” Tony chimed in, earning him an annoyed eyeroll from Nat.

Clint nodded in approval, again reaching for the gummy bears. “And anyways, marshmallows aren’t real food.”

“I give up. You guys are impossible!”

“I could cook something. If we have enough food left.” Bruce offered, already getting up to go check the fridge.

“Uhm or we could go into town. There might be some nice places to eat.”

The moment the words left Steve’s lips everyone stared at him in disbelieve, making him instantly regret having spoken. Clearly, he said something wrong or offensive and they were mad again.

Good going, Rogers.

Bruce was the first to speak again. “Town?”

Steve just nodded in response, too afraid to say something wrong again.

“There is a town?” Clint asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

“Well… yes. Did you think I cooked all this myself?” The only edible thing Steve was able to produce in the kitchen was omelette and apple pie, the letter throwing Tony into a laughing fit when he first found out. Apparently, it was just too cliché that Captain America made apple pie. And even with those quite simple dishes, Steve always made an impossible amount of mess, which as a consequence got him banned from the kitchen in the Avengers Tower. The team’s eyes went to the spotless kitchen.

“Yeah that seems unlikely. There are no eggs stuck to the ceiling” Nat mumbled, and Steve was almost glad about the little jab. It’s what Natasha did, and you only ever should worry when she is super nice to you. That means you’re in deep shit. So, he took her comment as a good sign.

Clint swung himself off the sofa. “Town it is then. Lead the way, Captain.”

“I don’t know about you boys, but I would like to get changed first.”

“I want to change!” Tony exclaimed, his voice a little higher pitched than usual. He had been uncharacteristically quiet since they had returned, and Steve hated it. If someone had told him a few years ago, that he would feel uncomfortable and even unhappy about Tony Stark shutting up, he would have laughed them out of the building. But now… now that silence made him feel more on edge than ever. And he had fought actual Nazis.

The fact that no one picked Tony up on his too high-pitched voice or made a joke about him saying the sentence “I want to change”, even further confirmed that something was clearly wrong. On any other day Tony would have to endure endless teasing, especially from Clint. But now – nothing but awkward silence, that was eventually broken by Thor clapping his hands.

“Battle plan: Everyone will change into their best garments and we will meet here in 10 minutes to acquire more food!”

Tony could kick himself. He actually cursed himself for not packing one of his Iron Man suits so he could kick himself with it. I want to change? To be fair, he did want to, not only his cloths, but actually change that is. But that wasn’t anything one just announces to the room like that. That no one teased him about it, made him feel even worse. This whole holiday was just a great cringe-fest and he couldn’t wait for it to be over, so he could hide in his workshop again and pretend that the world didn’t exist.

Now though he had to get dressed and go out to dinner with his friends. And Steve.

Was Steve his friend? Or was Steve something else?

Tony had thought that after they would return from the boat trip, he would come back to the house and when he would see Steve, he would know what to do. He had no such luck. The moment he laid eyes on the super soldier, his brain got up from its chair, waved and went out the door. Leaving Tony, a) absolutely uncapable of forming a decent thought and b) exclaim nuggets of rhetoric brilliance like “Oh Cheeseburgers” and “I want to change”. Thanks for nothing. Genius my ass.

The only other thing his unhelpful and mostly absent brain supplied, were pictures of last night. Steve’s body pressed against his. Steve’s breath on his skin. Steve’s smell in his nose. Tony’s boner in his pants. All very helpful.

Looking at himself in the mirror in his bedroom, Tony sighed deeply. There were dark circles under his eyes, which to be fair wasn’t that unusual, and neither were the frown-lines on his forehead. He was a mess. Sure, he wasn’t as bad as he used to be. He had stopped doing drugs and prostitutes. He didn’t drink as much anymore and apart from the occasional poker night with the team he didn’t gamble either. But that didn’t mean he was good. He was still Tony Stark, certified mess. Working too much, sleeping too little, eccentric, stubborn and always needed to have the last word. How could anyone be into that?

Taking out his phone and browsing through his contact list, his finger ended up ghosting over Pepper’s number. She was the only woman, the only person, who had loved him. Who managed to live with him. Who understood who he was. The woman had the patience of a saint, the wit of a genius and balls of steel. And even she couldn’t stand to be with him longer than a few months. How could anyone else? If Pepper couldn’t manage to be with him, no one could.

Not even a super soldier.

With another sigh he placed the phone back on the dresser next to the bed and started to get changed. He didn’t want the others to be waiting for him.

He would figure the Steve-thing out later. If there even was a thing.

Half an hour later everyone was finally ready to leave. Steve lead them around the house to a garage with two SUVs in it.

“There is a garage?!” Clint shook his head. “Why didn’t we notice that?”

“Because we didn’t look.” Bruce supplied helpfully. A few seconds later a small twig made contact with Bruce’s head.

“Steve and I will drive ahead in one car and you boys can take the other one and follow.” It wasn’t a question, more like an order and not even Clint dared arguing with Natasha.

Steve’s palms started sweating again as he got into the car with Nat. After the ice cream and the sort of apology, he had hoped that everything would be okay between them, but evidently it wasn’t.

The first minute passed in silence, Natasha had her feet popped up on the dashboard again like usual, while Steve stared very intensely at the road ahead of him.

“You’re an idiot.” She said matter of factly, not even looking at him. And really there was no point in arguing because for one thing there barely ever was a point in arguing with Nat and secondly, she was right. He was an idiot.

“Do you wanna know why you’re an idiot?”

“Oh, I think I know why.” He shot her a quick glance, her silence indicating that she wanted him to go on. “I hurt Thor. I lashed out at Tony. I… messed up.”

Natasha nodded. “Yes, to all of that, but that’s not why you’re an idiot.”

Steve’s eyebrow shot up. “No? Why then?”

“Because you love Tony.” Steve opened his mouth to protest, but Natasha didn’t give him the chance to do so. “Don’t argue with me, Rogers. You are a little smitten kitten. And the fact that you do absolutely nothing about it makes you a giant idiot.”

When he peered over at her again, she gave him a small nod. Permission to speak again. “I did something about it. I yelled at him and slammed my door shut in his face. That ought to take care of it.” He sounded more tense, than he had intended, his hands wrapped tightly around the steering wheel, knuckles white.

Natasha rolled her eyes. “You really think that put him off?”

Steve frowned slightly, but didn’t reply, so Nat continued. “All this tension between you and him is killing both of you and to be honest the rest of us too. Sure, it was fun to watch at first but enough fun and games now. You two need to work this out and soon.”

“What do you want me to do? Walk up to him and say: Oh, hello Mister Iron Man, I sure do like you. Would you accompany me to dance, I bet you’re a real jive bomber?”

Noticing her confused look, he shook his head. “A good dancer.” He clarified.

Natasha couldn’t help herself and started laughing. “Seriously? Man, no wonder you didn’t get laid in the 40s.”

“How is any of this helpful, Nat?” Steve asked, rather impatiently. This whole situation frustrated him.

“Listen here Cap, you need to show Tony that you like him.”

“And how do I do that?”

“Flirting, for a start. And shoving him against a wall and shouting at him doesn’t count. Although I bet, he enjoyed at least one part of that.”

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. “Natasha, have you seen me flirt?”

The helplessness and sheer resignation in Steve’s voice, made Nat soften a little. “It’s not that difficult. There are basically seven easy steps you need to follow, and you can’t go wrong. First: Make eye contact, small glances and catching his eye. Hold the gaze briefly and then look away and smile. Two: Smile more. Preferably slowly and not like a maniac, maybe crinkle your eyes or something.”

Steve looked over at her. “Seriously?”

“Do you want me to help you or not?” It wasn’t like he had an actual choice in that matter. “Three: Talk to him. Keep the conversation light and brief. Four: Start a longer conversation. Like a proper one about something he likes, but again you want to keep it light and breezy. Five: Body language. Don’t cross your arms, have an open stance, turn your body towards him. Six: Compliments. They are always nice and appreciated, but don’t be creepy. And lastly: Keep your interactions brief. Be… mysterious.” She turned her head towards Steve. “You want me to write that down for you soldier?”

Steve just nodded.

The town was small, and Tony insisted on calling it a village. But it had everything they needed: a few restaurants and shops as well as a bar and even a dance club. The advantage of such a small selection of restaurants was that there was not much arguing about where to eat. Naturally there was still some bickering, but noticeably less than in New York, where it could take them over an hour to decide where to have dinner. Every single movie night proved that.

They ended up in a charming little place just by the beach. The menu offered local specialities, at least they thought so because, they still didn’t actually know where they were exactly. Not that it really mattered. What mattered was watching Steve trying to flirt. Natasha knew that he wasn’t as experienced as most people and the fact that he was literally from a different time didn’t really help. Never would she have anticipated how abysmal his flirting really was.

Instead of smiling at Tony, Steve did some weird thing with his lips, basically baring his teeth at Tony. Every time Tony looked him in the eyes, Steve stared at him for a second, eyes bulging, before he jerked his head around and looked the complete opposite way and when he actually did hold eye contact, he almost squeezed them shut completely closed. His version of a brief and light conversation was him asking “Do you like the food?” and then, before Tony could even answer properly, turning away again to talk to someone else. But the worst thing was probably the body language. Steve sat in his chair, legs spread as wide as he could and when he returned from the toilet he stood right in front of Tony with his hands on his hips, which Nat could only imagine was his implementation of an “open stance” and “turning his body towards Tony”. Nat was horrified. And it took quite a lot to horrify her, she took pride in that.

Just as Steve attempted to have another light and brief conversation with Tony, in which he asked the other man if he preferred flathead or cross screwdrivers, Clint leaned over to Natasha. “Is he having a stroke?”

“Let’s hope so, because otherwise this is bad.”

Bruce was barely able to eat his food, because he was so distracted by Steve’s behaviour. The only one who seemed mostly oblivious to the strangeness taking place at their table was Thor.

If Clint, Bruce and Natasha seemed uncomfortable, it was nothing compared to Tony. He had attended a lot of weird dinners. Dinners where no one talked. Dinners where everyone talked at once. Dinners with his father shouting. Not one of them was as strange and puzzling as this one. If he didn’t know any better, he would have sworn, that Steve was having some sort of psychotic breakdown.

After they had finally finished dinner, they almost ran back to the cars. Everything to escape this situation. They rode back in the same group, but this time Nat was driving instead of Steve.

“I’m never flirting again.”

“Thank god!”

This day had been interesting, to say the least.

A normal day with the Avengers was bizarre, but today had been just a whole other level of weird. And Tony had seen his fair share of bizarre in his time.

First the love revelation at breakfast, the unusual cuddle session on the boat and Clint nearly choking on a marshmallow, although that last one was probably the most not “Dear-God-I’m-In-An-Alternative-Universe”-thing to happen all day.

Yet none of it compared to Steve’s behaviour at dinner. At first, he thought maybe the super soldier was attempting to flirt, then when his eyes and lips started twitching, Tony assumed he was having a stroke. By the time Steve started asking about screwdrivers and stood right in front of Tony with his crotch on eyelevel, he was sure Steve was having a psychotic breakdown.

The car ride home was spent in absolute silence. There never has even been a quiet minute when there was more than two of them in the same place. Even more bizarre.

Tony hadn’t been able to sleep much that night and according to the footsteps and the mumbling coming from the room next to his, neither was Steve. Something was definitely up.

Thinking back at to the breakfast that morning and the THING Thor had accidentally revealed to him, made Tony rethink the whole Steve-flirting-with-him-Theory. But surely that hadn’t been flirting?!

Tony shook his head and pulled the blanket over his head. Maybe if he just pretended that the world didn’t exist and this day had never happened, everything would just go back to normal.


	6. Day 5: Dares and a movie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team goes on a shopping trip, Clint is bored and a pillow fort brings everyone closer together.

** Day 5: Dares and a movie **

Everything did not go back to normal. Why would it?

He had listened to Steve leaving his room in the early hours of the morning, most likely to go for a run.

He had also listened to Steve returning and taking a shower. Meaning he had heard the shower run. Because it was right next to his room. It wasn’t like he had actively listened to Steve showering. That would be weird. And Tony wasn’t weird.

When Tony finally decided to get out of bed and join the rest of the team, it was almost noon.

“Well hello there, Sleeping Beauty.” Clint greeted him, with a wide grin.

“It warms my heart that you think I’m beautiful.” Tony deadpanned, making his way over to the coffee machine, all the while trying his best not to look at Steve, who was sitting at the head of the dining table.

He just had to play it cool. Pretend like nothing was going on. He slept in a little. He was on vacation so that was perfectly normal. And now he was getting some coffee. That was also normal.

Tony grabbed the biggest mug he could find and filled it to the brim with the delicious life-giving liquid, before he sat down at the dining table with everyone else.

“So, Team Chaos, what’s the plan today?” He asked.

“Shopping!” Thor exclaimed happily.

Only now Tony noticed the haunted expressions on the faces of the others. He had assumed it had something to do with the debacle that was yesterday, but as it turns out there was a brand-new crisis ahead.

“Why?” Tony asked, sounding more than just a little suspicious.

Bruce took a deep breath. “Because we just found out that there is a town to go to and you can’t just go into town without a propose. So, we’re going shopping.” It sounded like he was reciting something he had been told over and over again. Natasha patted him on the head, looking very pleased with herself.

“We are very excited.” Clint added, with absolutely no enthusiasm in his voice or face whatsoever.

“Do you want me to kick you again?” Nat asked warningly, which made Clint flinch and back away from her.

“Mean woman.” He hissed, but Tony could have sworn there was a hint of a smile in Clint’s eyes. God, those two were almost as bad as, well, never mind.

“Right then. Shopping it is.” Tony required a lot more coffee, before that was happening.

Tony hadn’t looked at him this morning. But then again that was to be expected, after Steve’s horrible, horrible flirting attempt. He hadn’t been able to sleep all night, which happened a lot lately. So, instead of getting some desperately needed rest, he had stared at the ceiling and thought of ways to fix this whole mess.

His top fix-it-plans were to either sweep Tony off his feet with a grand romantic gesture, flowers, chocolates and other rom-com clichés or… or to just pretend like nothing had happened.

Since he couldn’t decide which one was the right thing to do, and he sure as hell wouldn’t ask Nat again for relationship advise, Steve just decided to wait for a sign. People in movies always waited for signs and then everything worked out fine. So, why shouldn’t it be like that for him?

And thus, Steve spend most of the day looking for signs.

During lunch he did his best to subtly watch Tony as to not miss any signs, all the while missing how Tony was fully aware of Steve watching him. There was a reason Steve was a soldier and not a spy.

On the drive into town he made sure to ride in the same car as him, sitting in the backseat, watching Tony drive. Naturally, he didn’t notice how exceptionally weird he looked, staring at Tony through the rear-view mirror.

He was so focused on any possible signs, that he missed most of the shopping trip, until Clint’s words ripped him out of his thoughts.

“Let’s play truth or dare!”

Steve’s head snapped around. “No! No truth!” After the whole “Never Have I Ever” fiasco the last thing he needed was another game of forced confessions.

“So just dare?” Clint asked confused.

“How about just no?” Steve suggested.

Tony sighed and shook his head. “Why do you even want to play a game?”

“Because I’m bo-ho-hored!” Clint almost, no not almost, absolutely sounded like a child that’s about to throw a fit in the middle of the mall because his parents wouldn’t let him have candy. Only that he was a grown-up man, a trained assassin even, surrounded by superheroes in a lovely little square on a Caribbean island.

They could all physically feel Nat’s eyeroll, even though it wasn’t visible through her dark sunglasses.

“You know he’ll just keep whining if we don’t play.”

Natasha shook her head. “Bruce, if we keep giving in to him like that, he’ll turn out spoiled.”

“I’m already spoiled! Let’s play dare or dare!” By now Clint was jumping up and down on the spot right in front of Natasha. If they hadn’t been a conspicuous group before, now they certainly were. People were looking at Clint bouncing like a rubber ball, probably wondering what the hell was wrong with him. To be honest the rest of the group was wondering that as well about each other, but it was best not to go there.

“Honestly guys I don’t think I can manage a shopping tour and a whiny Clint. At least not sober.”

Bruce nodded in agreement and Nat threw her arms up in mock-frustration. “Fine!”

Clint clapped his hands happily. “Okay, Bruce first!”

“Wait what?”

“Bruce, I dare you go over to someone and ask them if they can hear the butterflies mooing.”

Bruce’s face dropped. “I don’t wanna do that!”

“You have to. I dared you to!” Clint argued.

Nat couldn’t hold back an evil little smirk. “Bruce, he’ll just keep whining if we don’t play.”

He shot her a venomous look. “You wanna play, Romanoff. We’ll play.” And with that he walked over to the nearest person to them. Squaring his shoulders, he cleared his throat. “Uhm, excuse me, but… Uhm that butterfly over there, do you hear it mooing too or is it just me?”

The man in front of Bruce looked at him with wide eyes and slowly backed away from him, before turning around and almost running away.

Steve has never seen Bruce’s face, or anyone’s face for that matter, in such a deep shade of red and he couldn’t help himself but laugh.

“Oh, you think this is funny, Rodgers? Let’s see how funny you find going in that pet-store over there, grabbing some bird seed and asking how long it takes for the birds to grow from it!”

Steve’s laughter immediately stopped, and Tony’s started. “Oh yes please do that.”

Steve crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. “It’s on Banner. And you’re next.” He pointed his finger at Tony, who was still giggling.

Ten minutes later, Steve left the pet-store, his face not quite as red as Bruce’s was but still far from its normal colour.

“Did you purchase the seed of birds?” Thor asked with a big grin plastered on his face.

Steve ran his hand across his face in a futile attempt to regain his composure, making Tony laugh again. It was the most beautiful sound in the world. If embarrassing himself in front of strangers is what it took for Tony to smile and be happy, then he would gladly spend his life doing just that.

And even though he just wanted to listen to Tony’s laugh all day, there was something else he had to do. “Well, Tony, I dare you to buy a toy phone, walk up to a stranger and tell them there’s someone on the phone for them.”

Natasha looked almost impressed. “Not bad, Rogers.”

Tony dismissed both of them with a wave of his hand. “Please. I’ve done more embarrassing stuff in the 90ies.”

They had walked past a toy shop a few streets back, so it only took Tony a couple of minutes to buy a toy phone. Another couple of minutes later he had handed it over to a very confused looking woman, sitting in a café across the road from where their group was waiting.

Without the toy phone but with a victorious smile on his lips, Tony returned to his friends. “Easy! Now, how about we let our great warrior over here storm into a store shouting ‘for Narnia!’”

Clint and Bruce started chuckling, while Steve and Thor just looked very confused. “I do not understand that reference.” Thor looked at Natasha for help.

“It’s a movie where a closet is a door to another world and there is a talking lion.” She tried to clarify.

Thor’s face lit up. “That sounds most incredible!” And with that he went off into the nearest store as if running into battle for an imaginary place with talking animals.

He was escorted out of the grocery store by its very angry looking owner just moments later.

“I do not regret anything.” He proudly declared.

Bruce shook his head, still smiling. “Now you have to dare either Natasha or Clint to do something weird.”

Thor thought for a moment, looking at the scenery around them for inspiration.

“Oh! Natasha!” He exclaimed, pointing at an ice cream truck.

She looked up at the God of Thunder, her eyes ever so slightly narrowed. “Yes?”

“I request you purchase an ice cream and inquire if the vendor is a believer in the majestic creature that is the unicorn. And before he will reply, you will take the ice cream and put it on your forehead. So, you become the unicorn!”

If Steve had to sum up this week, he would have to say it basically consisted of awkward exchanges and surprised silences.

This fell into the latter category.

Tony slowly nodded his head in appreciation. “I’m impressed.”

“I’m upset I didn’t come up with this.” Clint added.

Natasha, meanwhile, was trying to hide her amusement. This wasn’t the time for fun. Thor picking her meant that only Clint was left, and she therefore had to think of something horrible for Clint to do.

First things first, she had to complete Thor’s dare. Nat put on her best fake tourist smile and walked up to the ice cream truck. She ordered a scoop of vanilla in a cone, took a deep breath and smashed it against her forehead after asking the vendor if he believed in unicorns. Without waiting for a reply from the puzzled guy, she mustered up as much of an air of “Obviously it is completely normal for me to have an ice cream cone stuck on my forehead” as she could, which was quite a lot, and walked back to the guys.

Clint knew that shit was about to hit the fan when he saw the way Nat looked at him. That’s when he realized that he was the only one who hasn’t been dared to do anything yet. And that it was Natasha’s turn.

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes. Now let’s see. What shall I make you do?”

“Oh god Nat please remember we are friends.”

“Maybe I should ask the others for inspiration.” She turned around to face the rest of the team, Tony and Bruce were grinning from ear to ear.

“No! No, you can’t do that.” Clint begged. Little did he know that was exactly what Natasha had wanted. She loved the fact that she could have one of the most skilled assassins begging for mercy. While there was a cone stuck to her head. And melting vanilla ice cream running down her cheek. That was true power.

“Well, Clint, if I’m nice to you with this dare, what is my quit pro quo?”

Steve watched on in amazement how Clint tried to negotiate with Natasha, and he was very, very glad that it wasn’t him graveling before her. There was a reason why she was the best.

Clint whispered something into Nat’s ear, the desperation clear on his face.

“I mean really what’s the worst she could make him do?” Steve asked, more talking to himself than addressing anyone in particular.

“Run through town naked.”

“Pretend to be a dog for the whole day.”

“Kiss the mighty Hulk. Not Bruce, the Hulk.”

“Not allow him to make any snide remarks and instead smile all day.”

“No coffee for a week.”

Steve looked at Tony, Bruce and Thor. “Wow. You guys answered that way too quickly.”

Tony shrugged. “Clint can be a… how do I say this without using a bad language word?” The super soldier rolled his eyes. “Sometimes he can be a pain and when people are like that, we think of ways to make them pay.”

Steve was 90% sure that Clint wasn’t the only one they had such a list for. Especially after yesterday. “Well, then I’m glad you guys went easy on me.” He said with a shy smile.

“You should be.” Bruce mumbled and Steve’s smile dropped immediately. Okay, there was definitely a list. And now his palms were getting sweaty again. Great.

All he wanted was to turn back time and undo the last 48 hours. Go back to before they played that stupid game. Technically he still needed to drink, because he absolutely had fantasised about a certain team-mate, and not only once.

Even after the weird couple of days they had, Steve’s feelings about Tony haven’t changed a bit. He still wanted there to be something. He still wanted… Tony.

And honestly who could blame him? Just looking at the man made him feel all warm and fuzzy. His beautiful hair, that looked so soft, sometimes Steve had to physically stop himself from running a hand through it. His beard, so meticulously neat, all Steve could think about was if it would tickle when they were kissing. The way his brows were furrowed when he was tinkering on his inventions for hours and hours, Steve wished he could just pull him away from the workbench and massage the tension from his muscles. The way his whole face lit up when he was smiling not that fake smile he puts up for the press, but the real thing, that made Steve forget all the bad things in the world. Tony’s stunning brow eyes, so often hidden behind tanned sunglasses, always darting around, barely resting on anything for more than a second, oh but when the glasses were gone and he locked eyes with Steve, all he could see was warmth.

Steve’s heart was beating about twice as fast as humanly possible and he could feel a blush creeping up his neck. 

“Right boys, I have decided what to do with Mr. Barton.” Steve let out a shaky breath. Finally, something else to focus on but Tony.

“He will get fake eyelashes and wear them as a moustache for the rest of the day.”

Tony cocked an eyebrow at her. “That’s all? A bit anticlimactic if you ask me.”

“But no one asked you, Stark.” Clint snapped. Even though his dare was quite harmless, he still seemed very tense, which made Steve wonder what the archer had whispered into Natasha’s ear. She did say something about a quit pro quo. Poor Clint.

On the other hand, there had to be said something about him wearing fake eyelashes as a moustache, Steve thought to himself when Clint had put on the rainbow coloured abomination that Nat for some reason or another had in her purse.

“Is… Is that glitter?” Bruce asked, narrowing his eyes and leaning closer towards Clint.

Natasha’s smug face was answer enough.

“I hate all of you.” Clint grumbled, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Thor slung an arm around his shoulder, pulling the smaller man closer to him. “I have to say I did very much enjoy this game of yours.”

Clint just glared up at the god, wondering for the nth time this week why he was friends with those people.

It was already getting dark outside when they arrived back at the house, laden with shopping bags. Even though everyone had complained about going for a shopping trip in the morning, they had all found something for themselves.

Clint was still wearing his rainbow-glitter eyelashes and it definitely hasn’t stopped being funny yet and Tony honestly doubted that it ever would.

He had to admit, that today had actually been fun. Not that he would ever admit that, especially not to Nat. But he had enjoyed doing something so normal like shopping with his group of very not-normal people. Sure, it was still a little awkward between Steve and, well everyone, but they were getting there. Tony caught Steve staring at him a few times, but he was almost certain that Steve hadn’t noticed him noticing. He had had that far gone look on his face, that he usually only gets when he’s either thinking of his past pre-capsicle, or when he was trying to figure out how to solve a tactical problem.

Now the question was, was Tony a tactical problem or someone who reminded Steve of his past. If Tony was honest with himself, which he never was because it was on his not-to-do-list, he knew exactly why Steve looked at him like he did and who he most likely reminded Steve of. With the slight difference that Tony wasn’t a hot British chick. As far as Tony knew, Peggy had been the only person Steve was ever really interested in. Just that one _woman_. And while he was being honest with himself, wasn’t that the problem? Steve had never been with a guy before and that was making Tony nervous.

Not because he thought maybe Steve was just confused or all the other crap people say about bisexual people, like it’s just a phase or whatever. No, what concerned him was that Steve had a crush on him of all people. Heaven knows Steve was no angel, but he undeniably deserved better than him. He deserved someone who could make him feel safe, even more so if this was indeed his first time. He deserved someone who wasn’t as messed up as he was.

He had fucked it up with Pepper, had seen how hurt she was. Pepper, who was one of the strongest people Tony has ever met. He had been sure, that if he could make it with someone it had to be her. And yet it all ended in tears and heartbreak.

The last thing Tony wanted was to hurt Steve as well.

So, the responsible thing to do would be to talk to Steve about all of this and make it clear to him, that he had chosen the wrong man. Thank you very much for your interest in Tony Stark, unfortunately we are currently not hiring any hot super soldiers, who make us feel weak in the knees and hard in other places.

That would be the mature and sensible thing to do.

What a shame that it was also on his not-to-do-list.

Unbeknownst to him there was more than just a shopping trip on the to-do-list for today. What Tony had forgotten, or quite possibly just repressed, was that today was Friday. And Friday was movie night. That was the law. Usually they also got take-out food but since they had that yesterday and Bruce felt like cooking, they let him work his magic. Not that anyone could have stopped him, even if they wanted to.

That left the rest of the team to decide on a movie to watch. The fact that there was only a limited selection of movies to pick from the small DVD collection in the house helped. The fact that it only consisted of Rom Coms didn’t. Tony had the distinct feeling that this was in no way a coincident, although Natasha seemed truly surprised about it. Then again, she was a brilliant actress, and an even more brilliant plotter.

Nevertheless, a decision needed to be made. They had narrowed it down to “Dirty Dancing”, “When Harry Met Sally” and “Brokeback Mountain”. There was a hard veto against “Brokeback Mountain” from Tony and Clint, because the last time they had watched it (together), both of them had to cry and Clint decided that the glitter-moustache was enough humiliation for the day.

Steve and Thor didn’t know either of the other movies making it absolutely impossible to decide. Eventually, they let fate take the reins, fate being a coin.

“So, Heads says “Dirty Dancing”, tails being “When Harry met Sally”.” Nat announced and tossed the coin into the air.

Looking at the coin after it landed back in Nat’s hand, Tony sighed in relief. “Honestly, I don’t think Cap could handle that first dance scene.”

Steve tilted his head slightly. “Why? What happens?”

Tony, Tasha and Clint just ginned in reply. Yeah, he definitely wouldn’t be able to handle that.

It frustrated Steve immensely that he didn’t get all the pop culture references the others made. The only one who was about as clueless as he was, was Thor and to be honest he was glad that he wasn’t alone in this. He had found a sort of studying partner in the God of Thunder and he was extremely grateful for it too. They had spent countless evenings and nights together, watching movies and TV shows the others kept talking about. He hoped that those nights with Thor and huge bowls of popcorn weren’t over after what he had done. Because Steve had an ever-growing list, now adding “Brokeback Mountain” and “Dirty Dancing” to it. It’ll show them how he can handle the dance-scene. Whatever it was.

Bruce and Tony busied themselves in the kitchen while Clint and Thor were taking care of the construction of a pillow fort.

“Let’s make it really big!” And off they went to collect all the blankets and pillows in the house, leaving him and Natasha alone in the living room.

Steve could feel her eyes on him, burning through the back of his head. The tender touch of her hand on his shoulder was a surprise and he had to hold himself back not to flinch.

“Steve.” Her voice as soft as her touch, making him turn around. She was looking up at him, eyes full of concern and understanding, a small crease between her brows. She looked… defeated. Gone her usual air of confidence and poise. It was unnerving seeing her like this. Natasha always kept her composure, always made sure to look strong and in control. This was her with all her defences down, no games, no tricks. Just her. Forgotten was the anger he felt towards her for meddling, for scheming behind his back.

Steve reached for a stray strand of her hair, tugging it behind her ear. “Tasha.”

She leaned ever so slightly into his touch. “Just… just talk to him. Please?” Before he could argue, her hand on his shoulder tightened to a grip. “Steve, he knows. He knows what you feel for him.”

“What?”

“Thor accidently let it slip. Don’t blame him, he didn’t mean to. But Tony knows all the same.”

Steve shook his head. What was he supposed to do with that information? If Tony indeed knew about Steve’s feelings for him, then the lack of action on Tony’s side said all he needed to know. If Tony knew, he evidently didn’t feel the same.

“Then why didn’t he say something?”

“Why didn’t you say something?” She shot back and he knew she was right. “Steve, I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I promise you no more meddling. I just want you to be happy. So please talk to him.”

Before Steve could answer Clint and Thor stormed back into the room, at least he thought it was them, since all that could be seen were two mountains of pillows and blankets with a pair of feet sicking out at the bottom.

Natasha stepped away from Steve, shooting him one last glance before helping the pillow mountains building their fort.

Steve ran a hand over his face, contemplating Nat’s words. He knew she was telling the truth, knew this wasn’t another attempt at interfering.

Tony _knew_.

He knew, and yet he didn’t say anything. Did that mean that his feelings weren’t reciprocated? Or did it simply mean that Tony was just as much a chicken as he was?   
Natasha was right, Steve needed to talk to him.

He turned to look over to Tony and Bruce standing in the kitchen, getting a feast ready. The moment Steve sat eyes on him a surge of determination took hold of him. Taking a deep breath, he quickly walked over to the two of them in the kitchen, eyes fixed on the one person who could make his heart jump in his chest.

“Tony.” His voice barely more than a whisper.

The other man’s eyes darted from his task of chopping up onions for a salsa up to Steve’s face. The moment they locked eyes, Steve knew that this was it.

“Tony, I-“

“Everyone come and behold our mighty pillow fort!” Thor called from the living room. Tony’s focus shifted from Steve’s face to the God of Thunder and by the look of his construction, apparently also the God of Pillow forts.

And the God of Incredibly Bad Timing. Steve finally, _finally_, conjured up enough courage to talk to Tony and a structure of rectangular cloth bags filled with feathers foiled his plans. Just his luck.

Before he could get another word in edge wise, Tony abandoned Steve along with his half-chopped onions in the kitchen and went to inspect Thor’s and Clint’s creation.

“Sorry man.” Steve turned his head from watching after Tony, to Bruce, who smiled softly at him. Instead of replying, the super soldier took the knife Tony had left behind and continued chopping onions, although chopping might be the wrong word, it was more of a bashing.

If looks could kill, Thor would have dropped dead the moment he announced the completion of his masterpiece. In her frustration, Natasha nearly kicked the whole thing in. At last Steve had grown some balls and approached Tony and now this. Of course, she knew that Thor didn’t do this on purpose, but that didn’t help Nat feeling any less frustrated. And by the sound of Steve attacking the onions, he felt the same. What would it take for him and Tony to finally work it out? It looked like the gods, or at least one of them, were against them.

Clint noticed the tension in Nat’s shoulder and came up behind her, hands gently massaging her hard muscles. “Don’t worry.”

“If you tell me you’ve got a plan, I’ll kick you again.”

She could feel Clint grinning behind her, could feel the little puff of air tickling the back of her neck. She was a hypocrite and she knew it. Her and Clint have been dancing around each other like this for months now. Stolen touches, meaningful glances, shameless flirting. But not once had they actually talked about what was going on between them.

Clint knew better than to push her, but his patience wouldn’t be infinite, Natasha was well aware of that. And yet something always held her back from turning this, whatever it was, into something concrete, into something meaningful. And here she was lecturing Steve about getting a move on with Tony. Maybe watching her fiends pining was her punishment for being such a coward.

Turning her head to face Clint, she gave him a little smile. She would talk to him.

Later.

Thor had just finished giving Tony a tour of his pillow fort, when Bruce came over with the food. Aside from several pizzas, there was also an assortment of sweets, including popcorn, chocolate and cookie dough, as well as chips and freshly made guacamole and salsa. Steve looked a bit calmer now that he had taken his anger out on the onions.

His determination about confronting Tony about his feelings for him had faded completely. It just wasn’t meant to be. This was the sign he had waited for the whole day. He was about to make a move and it didn’t work so it was better to just give up. The universe has spoken.

Tony poked his head out of the fort beaming up at the rest of the group and Steve’s heart melted.

He couldn’t give up. Couldn’t give up the chance of seeing that smile every day of his life.

“This is magnificent!” Tony exclaimed and Thor was glowing with pride.

“Well then, let’s snuggle up and put the movie on.” Bruce said, placing the rest of the food in front of the pillow fort.

Tony disappeared back into the fort, the others right behind him.

“I guess I’ll be puttin’ on the movie them.” Steve made his way over to the TV and set everything up. Taking the remote with him, he climbed into the fort, where the rest of his team was waiting. Clint and Natasha were snuggled up under a blanket on the left, Thor and Bruce shared the middle space, leaving a place to the right of Tony. Of course.

Steve’s eyes quickly shifted over to Nat, who shook her head ever so slightly. This wasn’t her doing. Accepting his fate, Steve sat down next to Tony. The fort was big, but they were six people, one of them a God with more muscles than two normal humans, and a super soldier with shoulders wider than a mile, making this a very tight space indeed. Steve tried to scooch as far to the side as possible, but he couldn’t avoid physical contact with Tony. Yet there was no way around their legs and hips touching. He knew both of them would be more comfortable if Steve would wrap his arm around Tony’s shoulder instead of it being wedged between their bodies, but he couldn’t do that. It would just be too intimate.

Sitting there uncomfortable and only too aware of all the places their bodies touched, Steve started the movie, hoping it would distract him from being so close to Tony.

If Steve had any idea about this movie, he defiantly wouldn’t have thought so.

The beginning wasn’t all that bad. Harry and Sally met, bickered, met other people and then met again. All innocent enough. And then they were in a restaurant.

Steve could feel his blood rush to his head the moment Sally started to moan, his body temperature rising, his heartbeat going nuts. Suddenly he was feeling very hot and claustrophobic. He tried to focus on something, anything distracting himself from the noises coming form the television. He looked over to the others, who started to giggle, and he noticed that the only other person looking uncomfortable as well, was Tony. 

Steve tried to shift away from him a little, but there was nowhere else to go and instead of getting away from the inventor, he somehow got even closer to him. He could feel their bare arms touching, Tony’s heat radiating over to him. He could feel the man next to him tense ever so slightly. See his tongue dart out to wet his dry lips, making Steve wonder how that same tongue would feel on his own lips. He wondered how Tony would sound moaning like the woman on the screen. At once his blood went from his head straight to the other end and his pants grew noticeable tighter. It was all that he could do not to just grab Tony and find out.

Focus, Rogers! This was neither the time, let alone the place for this. Sitting in a cave of pillows with his four best friends was not how he had imagined the two of them getting together and oh how he had imagined it.

Finally, the scene was over, and Steve was able to focus on the screen again, although most of the remaining plot was lost to him. It was just shapes and noises up until they were kissing. They were kissing and fighting and kissing again and all Steve could think about was kissing Tony and then the movie was over.

When the movie was finally over, Tony risked a small glance over at Steve. He was very conscious about how close they were to each other and it by no means slipped his attention how flustered the super soldier had gotten during the restaurant scene. Not that he had any more control over his own body. Noticing Steve, noticing him looking, Tony abruptly jerked his head around, facing the other way. To his left he found Thor and Bruce yawning and rubbing their eyes, evidently ready to fall asleep at any moment. Clint and Natasha were still snuggled up under their blanket, her head resting on his shoulders, both snoring softly. It made an adorable picture, just like they would make an adorable couple if they finally got their shit together

Feeling Steve shift next to him, made Tony remember his own very messed up situation.

Talking about getting your shit together.

He really should talk to Steve about all of this, make it clear to him, that he had chosen the wrong guy to have a crush on.

Instead, he faked a yawn, mumbled a half-hearted goodnight and darted out of the fort, almost tearing it down in the process, and up the stairs to his room.

This wasn’t the right time to talk to Steve.

Maybe tomorrow.

Maybe never.

Definitely not now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed our favourite idiots not getting it on!
> 
> Big finale coming up next, so stay tuned!


	7. Day 6: Dried beans and plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the last day on the island and the last chance for everyone to spill their beans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The grand finale of my little vacation fic. We have everything the heart wants, angst, fluff and intrigue! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Last night had been anything but comfortable. What Tony had forgotten when he stormed upstairs to escape into his room was that Clint and Thor had taken all of the blankets and pillows in the house to construct their fort. Meaning that his bed had been empty except for the mattress. Deciding that going downstairs to claim back his bedding was worse than sleeping with a towel as a pillow, Tony had rolled up one of the fluffy things and stuck it under his head, concluding that this was utterly ridiculous and that he definitely would talk to Steve in the morning.

Morning came and went, and they didn’t talk. Breakfast was spent with them talking about what to do, since it was their last day on the island, before heading back to New York the next morning. Bruce wanted to go back into town to explore a little more, Thor and Steve wanted to go back into the jungle one to see the butterflies, the other one to draw, Natasha wanted to go to the beach again and Clint and Tony just wanted to relax by the pool.

So, they agreed to each go about their own endeavours and meet back at the house at lunch time.

After everyone had left the house, Tony changed into his swimming trunks and made himself comfortable in one of the deck chairs. Clint joined him a few moments later.

“So, you and Steve?” He asked with a smug grin.

“So, you and Tasha?” Clint’s grin dropped and he put his sunglasses on.

“Thought so.” Tony mumbled and closed his eyes, basking in the sun.

Thor and Steve set out into the jungle, the latter bringing his sketch book with him to get some drawing done. They walked in comfortable silence for a while, each taking in the beautiful scenery around them.

Steve was the first one to speak. “Hey buddy? I just… wanted to say sorry again.”

Before he knew it, Steve felt Thor’s arm wrap around his shoulder and pull him closer to the god’s side. “Not to worry, Captain. All is forgiven. Families fight. Then they make up and have a feast.”

Steve smiled at the words and in turn slung his arm around Thor’s middle. “And feast we did.”

Not long after they found a lovely little clearing, flooded with sun light, flowers all around. And more importantly butterflies. Those small delicate creatures seemed to have worked a spell on Thor. His face lit up the moment he saw one and even more so when one landed on him.

Steve came here to capture the magnificent beauty of the flowers and trees, but the image of Thor sitting on the soft jungle floor, surrounded by colourful butterflies, smile brighter than the sun was just to pretty not to draw.

Balancing his sketch book on his knee, Steve started drawing, not bothering to tell Thor to hold still. He knew better than that.

“Steve. Might I ask you a question?” Thor looked quite nervous about asking, his voice unsure.

Steve put down his drawing utensils and nodded softly. “Yeah sure.”

There was some hesitation. “Why don’t you tell Stark about your feelings towards him?”

Honestly, he shouldn’t have been surprised about that question. Heaven knows, he’s been asking that himself for weeks now.

“Honest?”

Thor nodded in encouragement.

“Because I’m scared. I’m scared of what happens if he doesn’t feel the same and I’m scared of what happens if he does.”

It was something he barely had admitted to himself, let alone anyone else. He was simply scared. On the one hand he wanted things to change in the sense that he wanted to be closer with Tony, so much closer. But at the same time, he wanted things to stay as they were. They had a good dynamic as a team, as a family and the last thing he wanted was to ruin it, like he already almost did.

He was scared that even if Tony did care for Steve in the same way, that it would sooner or later go down the drain anyways. Steve was by far not an easy person to live with. His nights were plagued by nightmares, he was restless all the time, got up way too early for a normal human being, was almost constantly on edge. This was not a good basis for a relationship.

And if Tony didn’t feel the same, well then what was the point in talking? According to Nat, he already knew about Steve’s feelings for him and surely if he was reciprocating his feelings then he would have said something by now. Unless he was as much as a coward as Steve was. Which brings him exactly to the same point he was last night, before Thor accidently interrupted him.

Thor seemed to be able to read his mind, but then again if two people spend enough time together that was bound to happen. “A lot could go wrong. But what if it works?”

What if it works? Oh Steve, could only imagine the life they could have. Waking up in each other’s arms in the morning, Tony grumpy and mostly comatose before his first coffee. He would make him breakfast in bed, would take him on dates whenever he possibly could. Would make him smile every day of his life. Steve knew he could make Tony so happy.

Thor grinned at Steve, who had that far away look on his face he always got when thinking about Tony. “The question you must ask yourself is: Is the happy life you could have greater than the risk of him not loving you as well.”

Steve knew the answer to the question without even thinking about it.

At lunchtime everyone found themselves back at the house. Natasha looked deeply relaxed from her morning at the beach. She made herself comfortable in one of the deck chairs next to Clint, who had just woken up from a little nap. He gave Nat a drowsy smile and a wink and to Tony’s surprise instead of rolling her eyes she returned his smile.

Those two really had it bad for each other.

Steve and Thor joined them a little later, Steve immediately turning a furious shade of pink when he saw Tony laying on a deck chain in nothing than his swimming trunks.

It wasn’t like he’d never seen him topless before, quite the contrary, Steve remembered to their first day here all to well, when he had accidently seen Tony for a very naked swim. The mental image of it still made his mouth water.

If Steve only could muster up the courage to talk to Tony, he might get that sight a lot more often. But if there was one thing this team didn’t do, it was talking to the people they had feelings for.

Another thing they didn’t do was cooking with Bruce. The otherwise gentle and ever so patient man had on weak spot, well two if you count the Hulk, but even the Hulk seemed like a soft kitten compared to Bruce when someone was getting in his way in the kitchen. Nat and Tony had long given up even offering to help, yesterday’s onion-chopping attempt being an exception, since Bruce knew Tony needed a little distraction. They knew full well how absolutely useless they were when it came to cooking. Thor, Steve and Clint weren’t that smart. Thor always wanted to be involved in everything that was happening. He craved the feeling of community and because he had watched too many cooking shows, he assumed it was something friends did together for fun. And he would be right, if it weren’t for the fact that Gordon Ramsey was harmless and kind compared to Bruce. He liked getting things done a certain way and Thor wasn’t really one to follow strict orders. So, eventually he had given up offering his help in the kitchen.

Steve felt uncomfortable being cared for like that. He was used to powering though on his own and having someone cook almost every meal for him felt weird. So, he tried to assist Bruce in the kitchen. Considering that he was a military man one would think that he was better in following orders given to him. But no such luck. While Steve was more than capable in most things in life, he still didn’t come up even close to Bruce’s kitchen-standards. The man had high demands and even a super soldier couldn’t handle them. After a few months of being shouted at by Bruce, Steve as well gave up.

Clint on the other hand seemed to have a death wish. No matter how many times he got kicked out of the kitchen, he always came back without fail. Whether he was just too damn stubborn to give up helping Bruce or just liked getting on the other man’s nerve, Clint refused to back down. Not even Nat could convince him to stop, and that meant something. After a few months of hearing every curse word in the English dictionary coming from the kitchen in the tower, something miraculous happened. Bruce seemed to finally let someone help him. The shouting became rarer and apart from the occasional swat on the back of Clint’s head with a kitchen towel there was no violence. That they saw.

Taking all of this into consideration it was even more astonishing when Bruce came out onto the sundeck with a bunch of aprons in his hand. “We’re cooking.”

“I must still have water in my ears, because I could swear you just said: ‘We’re cooking’.”

Bruce pursed his lips and shook his head. “No, you heard right. I’m tired of cooking for you children. It’s time you learned how to take care of yourself!”

It was hard to tell who was more in shock. Tony took off his sunglasses, raising an eyebrow at him, Steve and Natasha exchanged a concerned look. Clint had a shit eating grin plastered on his face. Since he usually was the only one allowed in the kitchen, he felt very privileged.

Bruce tossed them each an apron and went back inside. “Kitchen. Now!”

“What. The. Hell?” Tony asked, still looking like a truck had hit him.

Natasha just shrugged and grabbed one of the aprons. “Doctor’s orders.”

“Fine, but I’m not getting dressed.” Tony mumbled, putting on the apron. It had an image of a woman’s body in a bikini on it.

“You look magnificent!” Thor exclaimed with a bright smile. Steve could only agree.

A few minutes later everyone was assembled around the kitchen counter, listening to Bruce’s instructions about how to make the perfect quiche.

He kept rambling on about blind backing the crust, but apart from Thor no one was really listening. Clint kept staring at Tony’s fake apron-boobs, earning him a clap on the back of his head from Natasha. “They’re not real!”

“Ow! I know. Mean woman.” He grumbled, rubbing his head where she had hit him.

Clint himself wore an apron that looked like a French maid costume, Thor’s had flames on them, Nat’s depicted Wonder Woman and Steve’s said “Grumpy Old Man” on it, while Bruce’s was just plain black.

Tony still didn’t understand what had come over Bruce and why he suddenly insisted on teaching them how to cook, when all he’s done the last couple of years was yell at them when they came anywhere near the kitchen.

“Okay, since neither of you paid any attention, you get demoted to fetching the supplies.” Bruce scolded. “Tony, Steve, you go get dried beans for the crust. I think I saw some in the cupboard under the stairs.”

Tony crossed his arms over his apron boobs. “What did I do? Clint’s the pervert!”

“If you can tell me what blind baking is, you can stay here.”

Tony pursed his lips. With his arms still crossed as he turned around and left the kitchen, Steve right behind him, trying to hide his grin.

“Blind baking. Sounds kind of kinky is you ask me. Now where are those idiotic beans?” Tony mumbled, walking into the small supply closet.

Steve stepped in behind him, reaching over Tony’s head to grab the beans from the top shelf. “Got ‘em!”

Before either of them had the chance to turn around and leave the door shut behind them.

The lock was turned.

“What the-“

Someone slipped a sheet of paper under the door with one word written on it in red lipstick. “TALK!”

Beans still in his right hand, Steve bend down to pick it up and turned it towards Tony.

“Oh, I’m gonna kill them.”

Ten minutes later, Steve was sitting on an upturned bucket, watching Tony bang his fist against the door, cursing Natasha and promising her a slow and painful death if she didn’t unlock the door immediately. Steve meanwhile tried to get as much space between them as possible, which wasn’t much in this tiny room. Even standing at opposite sites of the closet, they were almost touching.

He had to hand it to Nat, he honestly believed her when she promised him no more meddling. He should have known better. Then again, he knew that she was right in locking them in here like that. Otherwise they would never talk about what was going on.

Or wasn’t going on.

Whatever.

By the looks of it even being locked in a tiny room together wouldn’t get them talking.

“You know, I don’t think she’s gonna let us out any time soon.” Steve said quietly, worried he would upset Tony even more.

The other man turned around, wild-eyed and panting slightly. “This is ridiculous!”

Steve could only nod in agreement. Everything about this situation was ridiculous. Starting with the fact that they were Iron Man and Captain America. On a Caribbean island. Locked in a closet. By Black Widow.

It sounded like the plot of a mediocre rom-com staring a blonde himbo and a very sexy nerd, who against all odds find love, thanks to their quirky best friends.

Tony leaned his back against the door and slowly glided down onto the floor. Pulling his legs up to his chest with his arms wrapped around them, he leaned his head against his knees.

A few minutes they just sat there in silence, neither of them finding the right words.

How do you start a conversation like this?

_“Yes, hello, I am in love with you do you love me too? Yes? Great let’s kiss and get married. No? Well, worth a try, let’s stay friends.”_

If only it were this simple.

If only there wasn’t so much depending on it.

Tony lifted his head ever so slightly from his knees, his eyes still fixed on them. “I know.” He whispered, but loud enough for Steve to hear.

Steve smiled sadly, lifting his head from where he had leaned it against a shelf. “I know.”

“What?” Finally, Tony’s eyes lifted, staring up at Steve.

“I know you know.”

“You knew that I knew and didn’t say something?”

“You knew and didn’t say something.”

“Because it’s ridiculous!” Tony’s voice was raised, a crease had formed between his brown eyes.

If there would have been any space, Steve would have taken a step back. Or maybe a thousand. This was what he had been afraid of. This was why he had avoided talking to Tony for so long.

Trying his best to push down the feeling of rejection, the pain - and dear god were those tears trying to escape him? – he nodded slowly. “Yeah. Ridiculous. Just… forget that… I mean you don’t… It’s fine.”

For all the strength the serum gave him, he wasn’t strong enough for this. Wasn’t strong enough to stop his voice from breaking, from a small pathetic sob to escape. His hands were shaking, shame burning its way through his body. The last thing he wanted was to break down in front of Tony, he could not let him see this. It was already humiliating enough to be rejected, having a meltdown in front of the guy you loved was just too much to bear. He wanted to get up, escape, but two things were blocking his way to freedom: a locked door and Tony. The locked door he could have dealt with easily, but Tony?

His eyes glued to the floor, Steve quickly wiped away a runaway tear, when he felt a hand rest on his knee.

“Steve.” Tony’s voice was ever so soft and gentle, and it made Steve’s heart ache even more.

There was nowhere to back away to and he couldn’t bring himself to swat away Tony’s hand. The touch, even though born out of pity, still felt good and oh how he craved more.

“Steve, look at me.”

He shook his head. He couldn’t do it. Couldn’t look him in the eyes, because it was those eyes that first made Steve realize that he was truly and madly in love with Tony. He could get lost in those eye for days and be thankful for it.

With his one hand remaining on Steve’s knee, Tony lifted the soldiers chin with the other. The moment their eyes met, Tony’s heart broke into a million little pieces. Those beautiful blue eyes reflected hurt and heartache and so, so much love, Tony never thought possible.

How could he do this to Steve?

How could he tell him that there could never be more between them than friendship, when Steve looked at him like that?

“You have to understand…”

Shaking his head once more, Steve shied away from his touch. “I understand.”

“Steve, you and I could never work.”

“Yes, I get it.” The tick in Steve’s jaw and the thin line of his lips gave away, that he was getting agitated, but Tony needed him to understand. Needed to make him see why this could never happen.

“We are not right for each other. You need to find someone else.”

The little sack of dried beans Steve was still holding in his hand, burst open, spilling its contents all over the floor. “Tony, I get it! You don’t feel the same. It’s fine! Just forget about it!” In the confined space, Steve’s voice bellowed louder than intended. He was definitely pissed off now.

But Tony would rather Steve be angry than hurt. Anger Tony could deal with, he had experienced a great deal of that from other people in his life. But hurt? That was something that brought Tony to his knees, in this case quite literally.

So, it wasn’t Steve’s tone that made him pause and frown, but the words he had spoken. “What do you mean I don’t feel the same?”

“I mean I love you, but you… don’t.” It was the first time Steve had said this out loud to anyone, including himself, but Tony didn’t know that.

“But I do.”

Now it was Steve’s turn to frown. “What?”

“I do… love you.” Tony confessed in a hushed tone, a blush creeping up his neck.

“Then why… What?!”

Tony shuffled away from Steve, leaning back against the door. It was impossible to be so close to the blond man without his thoughts and convictions straying, but it was crucial that he didn’t give in to his desires and instead made Steve understand why this was more than just your average bad idea.

“Because I’m a mess! No, let me finish. I need to get this out in one go, otherwise I’ll never say it. I am a mess, Steve. More than you know. I don’t eat or sleep or leave my workshop for days at a time. And even if I sleep, I have nightmares and panic attacks all the time. I have never told anyone that I loved them, even when I did. I am arrogant and self-absorbed, and I can’t admit when I’m wrong. You were right, when you said that I am nothing without my suit. I have slept with more people than I can count, and I never saw most of them again in my life and even if I did, I never stayed friends with them or anything. I can’t be with you, because you deserve someone better. Someone who will make you happy and who will give you all the things in life that you deserve. I’m a mess Steve and I can’t be the first guy you are with. It’s just not right.”

A deafening silence followed. Tony was holding his breath, too scared to make even the smallest of noises. He expected Steve to start yelling, cursing, stay silent, anything. He didn’t expect him to smile.

“The only thing you are is an idiot. Which makes this a room with two idiots in it. Tony, I already knew that you’re sleeping schedule is basically non-existent, we live together. I have nightmares and if you let me, I could try and help you with yours. It doesn’t matter that you never told anyone you loved them, because neither have I. The past is not an issue that could ever push me away from you. You are arrogant, but rightly so. You are a genius! And the world should know how great you are. No one likes to admit when they’re wrong, but I’ve seen you change your mind or view countless times when presented with new information, because you are a scientist and that’s what scientists do. When I said you were nothing without your suit, I didn’t know you. I didn’t know the great things you are capable of, in and outside of your workshop. You have given me, and the others, a home. You were the one who brought us all together and no suit of yours could ever measure up to the strength you show when one of us needs you. I don’t care about your past Tony, about who you once were and who you spend your time with, I care about your present. And your future. And… I would very much like to be a part of that future. If you let me.”

Tony’s mouth opened and closed a few times, but no words escaped him. It was one of those rare occasions where Tony Stark was rendered speechless.

“Oh, and what makes you think that you’d be the first guy I’d be with?”

Now this got Tony speaking again. “What? How? When? WHO?!”

A broad smile took over Steve’s face. He shrugged his shoulders, like the information he had just given Tony was nothing special. “You had to be careful back in my day and nowadays I have to make sure no one recognises me for who I am but… you wouldn’t be my first.”

Tony’s brain, which usually worked at high speed, seemed to take its sweet time processing Steve’s words. Steve accepted him for who he was. He didn’t care about his past. He was not a virgin.

Before he could stop himself, Tony leapt up from where he was sitting on the floor, closed the very short distance between them and took Steve’s face in his hands. Not a second later their lips touched and for the first time ever Tony’s head was silent. No self-doubt, no questions, no thoughts. Just peace. Nothing had ever felt this right before in his life and he’d be damned if he ever stopped kissing Steve.

Steve’s heart did a double flip the moment they kissed. It was a shy and delicate kiss, so innocent and yet so meaningful. A soft moan escaped Tony, when Steve’s tongue licked over the other man’s lips. The sound flicked a switch in Steve’s head. Still sitting on the upturned bucket, he grabbed Tony’s hip with one hand, pulling the inventor onto his lap, while his other hand disappeared in his curly brown hair. In return Tony wrapped his arms around Steve’s neck, pressing their bodies as close as they could get in this position.

Tony was still only wearing his swimming trunks and the bikini apron, yet it was far too much. Steve made quick work with the ribbon on the back and was just about lift the neckholder over Tony’s head when someone knocked on the door of the closet they were locked in. Seconds later a second sheet of paper slid in from under the door.

Tony turned around in Steve’s lap and picked up the paper.

“Have you talked yet?” He read out loud and couldn’t help but laugh. “You know Steve, we have very intrusive friends.”

Steve chuckled with his lips pressed against Tony’s exposed neck. “We do indeed.”

Tony’s laugh turned into a moan and he dropped the paper back onto the floor. Another knock sounded from the door, more urged this time.

A sort of angry growl escaped Steve. “Yes, we talked. Go away!”

Instead the door was unlocked and opened. Tony practically leapt off Steve’s lap, clutching the undone apron to his chest, a sudden feeling of modesty coming over him, that was far from typical for him. The doorframe was filled by a broad figure.

“You are together!” Thor declared happily.

Steve got up from his seat. “You’re in this as well?”

The god nodded enthusiastically, seemingly very proud of himself.

“I can’t believe this.” Steve mumbled and pressed past Tony and Thor, to talk to the person who was behind all this. “Natasha!”

Hearing her giggle from the kitchen, he stormed over to her, Thor and Tony right behind him. “You promised me no more meddling! You promised!”

Natasha looked honestly puzzled at Steve’s outburst. “I don’t-“

“I locked you in.” Now it was the super soldier’s turn to look confused, as he turned around to Bruce.

“What?”

Bruce shrugged. “Well, I couldn’t watch you tiptoe around each other anymore. And I certainly couldn’t watch those two,” with that he pointed to Clint and Natasha, “try, and fail, to get you and Tony to talk. So, I locked you in. And then I locked Tasha and Clint into the bathroom, because they were just as bad and needed to get their shit together. Now get out of my kitchen so I can make lunch.”

And with that he pushed everyone but Thor out onto the sun deck.

Tony shook his head in disbelieve. “Bruce? Of all people. Fancy that.”

Natasha and Clint seemed to already have come to terms with Bruce’s involvement in all this. They also seemed very… changed. Just now Steve noticed the two of them holding hands and the glances they exchanged. Apparently, they too, were finally together. Then again, he and Tony hadn’t actually talked about what they were to each other. Did their kiss mean that they were a couple now?

Steve walked over to Tony, who was now sitting on one of the deck chairs next to Clint and Nat, both evidently very much in love.

“Uhm Tony could I talk to you?” Steve asked awkwardly. He would not make the same stupid mistake again and not talk to Tony. If this was going to work, they needed to communicate with each other.

Before the inventor could get up, Tasha and Clint rose from their chair, holding hands. “We’ll… leave you. Bye.” And off they went downstairs to their rooms to, well, be alone.

Thankful for their leaving, Steve sat down next to Tony. “We still… haven’t talked about… us?”

Tony’s hand came to rest on Steve’s knee once more. “I’m not saying this will work. Or that we will never fight. Or that it will be easy. But I will promise you that I will try everything in my power to make it work, to not fight and to make it as easy to love me as possible. And I will promise to love you and to make you happy.”

Steve blushed and a bright smile spread across his face. “There is nothing easier than loving you.”

The rest of the day went by in a haze. Steve and Tony spend most of it out on the sun deck in each other’s arms, whispering sweet nothings, enjoying the touch of the other. Natasha and Clint didn’t emerge from their rooms until dinner.

Too soon night came, and then it was morning and time to leave the island and had back to New York.

Neither of them wanted to leave, for one enjoying their little paradise far too much, and also because they were afraid their new-found happiness would collapse as soon as every day life had taken over again.

Nevertheless, the flight was spend with the two couples being annoyingly in love, and Bruce seriously questioned if this was better than the pining.

Once they exited the plane, both Steve and Tony, and Natasha and Clint, walked straight past Fury and disappeared out of site to continue their little honeymoon phase.

Bruce came up to Fury, who was watching the couples leave for their rooms. “I gather they finally got their shit together.”

Bruce suppressed a smile. “You could call it that.”

“Finally. I almost ran out of ideas. Do you think the rom-com DVD collection was a little much, Doctor?”

“This was your idea?” Bruce asked, mouth agape.

Fury shrugged ever so slightly. “I had a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked my little fic, please feel free to leave a comment or kudos, they are what writers live for.  
I will be taking off for a month but if you have any fic ideas, be it for longer stuff or just drables, just pop them in the comments and I will try to write something for you!  
Much love and thanks for reading!


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